What Does The Bible Say?

There is only one Bible, right? So why are there so many different beliefs? This Church over here, using the Bible for their justification, believes thus or so. While that Church over there, using the same Bible, believes something different (and usually quite opposite).

What Does The Bible Say? is a web site dedicated to exploring this question. Though you may object to some of my views and opinions, what I write on this site is my own ideas of what is actually said in the Bible. I hope to take a different doctrine each study and see What Does The Bible Say?

But first a little about myself. My name is Mike Owens. I am 48 years old and have been a Christian for 25 years now (March 10, 1974). I have seriously studied the Bible for all of that time, and for several years prior.
I am familiar with Hebrew and Greek text ( I can read, write and speak Hebrew and have a working understanding of Greek).

Now if you are ready to begin the journey...

A Biblical Perspective on Astrology

Throughout history, man has taken what was established by God and perverted it into the complete opposite. God has said only through Him can we find redemption; man has said we must earn our own redemption to see God. God has said there is no other gods besides Him; man has said there are many gods, and we ourselves may attain to godhood if we work hard. Astrology is no different.
To use modern terms, Astronomy is the secular side of the science, while astrology is the religious side. All arithmetic and astronomic sciences came from Babylon to Egypt, then from Egypt to Greece. It is only natural that, while importing the secular sciences, they would also import the religious sciences, since these sciences were controled by the priests. In Genesis 1:14 we read:
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
The word for signs: ] (l 'ot) has the basic generic meaning of; a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc..
It is believed that the zodiac was originally the story of man written in the stars.
Astrology means the study of the stars (with the intent of interpreting their influence on human affairs), at one time of its conception it was the same as astronomy, which is the study (or science) of the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.
It was only after the Flood during the time of Nimrod that man corrupted what God had done into what we now see. The history of man up to and including Nimrod and his kingdom can be clearly seen in the stars. But they are signs in reference to their representation as a monument or as evidence that conveys this story, not what astrology has been corrupted into meaning.
The first ten chapters of Genesis tell this amazing story in the stars. In shortened form it reads like this:
In the beginning, God created all of the substance of the Heavens and the Earth. He accomplished this in six literal, twenty-four hour days. In the second verse it reads: ...and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The word for hovered is rachap which means to move gently or to flutter over.
On the sixth day, He created man in His own image. This was a triune image comprised of body, soul and spirit. Body, that physical tent we call home that others see. Soul, all our emotions and desires, our very essence or being, who we really are. Spirit, that which connects us to God, our intellect, our reasoning powers, our longing to know our Creator. God created man to have fellowship with him.
But man was alone. God brought all the animals to him to name, and none was found compatible to man. So God created the woman to be the counterpart, of the man, the other side of the coin, so to speak.
The two lived in innocence and had children, and tended the Garden God had created for them. They communed with God daily.... until they sinned.
Most people think the woman was alone when the serpent tempted her, but Adam was there beside her and did nothing. That was his true sin.
God established the only way for man to atone for his sins at that time by sacrificing an animal, giving blood to cover their sin. After their banishment from the Garden, Eve gave birth to twins, Cain and Abel. Cain slew Abel and started man down a spiraling path to destruction.
When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God (this is the fallen angels) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they mated with any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years. Because of the total wickedness, and the polution to the human race caused by fallen angels mixing with women to form a super human, God decided to destroy all He had created and start anew. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
After the Flood which had destroyed the whole earth had receded, Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. This act was far beyond the mere act of seeing, Ham raped his mother and she became pregnaunt, eventually giving birth to a daughter.
In shame and humiliation, the daughter was cast out and left to die, but Shem took her in and raised her to womanhood. He undoubtedly taught her the ways of God, desplaying his own righteousness as an example.
But her blood was already poluted with the unrighteousness of the world. She would marry her brother Cush when she came of age. They would have a son called Nimrod.
When Nimrod gained fame as a fierce hunter/warrior, he and she would plot to take the authority from Cush, and establish themselves as rulers. Nimrod would marry his mother. The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon (Bab), Erech, Akkad (Ak) and Calneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah.
From this incestuous marriage, their fame as deified humans would grow. But their open debauchery would soon come to and end. Shem was still alive at this time and was the descendant that carried the righteous bloodline which would lead to Christ. He gathered together the judges of his day (72), and convicted Nimrod of his wickedness, executing him and cutting his body in pieced, then sending them throughout his kingdom as a warning to all those who would follow in his footsteps. Semiramis was forced to take her religion and go underground, thus the start of the Mystery Religions.
Man has twisted, stretched, bent and remolded the entire history to fit around four individuals under various names. All the key players in this intriguing narative are called by different names in different religions, and though they may assume the role of some of their more righteous ancesters, in all actuality it is them: Ham, Cush, Nimrod and Semiramis.
This is a chart showing those four individuals and the different names by which they are known and how they ultimately portrayed themselves as God.
Words written in salmon are names or the meaning of names for Nimrod as the husband of Semiramis or as The Father of The Gods.
Words written in red are names or the meaning of names for Semiramis as the wife of Nimrod or as The Mother of The Gods, and of man.
Words written in lt blue are names or the meaning of names for Nimrod as the son of Semiramis born miraculously after the death of Nimrod.
Words written in lt green are names or meaning of names for Cush as the interpreter/messenger of the gods.
Words written in yellow are titles or positions held by each individual.
A dotted line shows connection, as husband/wife, brother/sister, parent/child.
I will also attempt to show how each of these signs represent one of the four main characters above, under whatever name they appear for the sign. I do not hold to the belief in astrology, but as stated above, I believe that all of early history was written in the stars, and only later corrupted by man. An interesting side note. In the kabala belief there is a symbol made up of triangles with circles at each corner. This symbol is called the Tree of Life and is the pathway one must follow to reach God. In one of the representations of this Tree of Life there is a sword which starts at the top of the tree and cascades down in the form of a lightning bolt, exiting at the bottom. Throughout this tree is entwined a snake which shows the proper order of paths each member must take to reach God. Likewise, throughout the entire zodiacal representation in the heavens is the constellation of The Dragon entwined through every house and encircling the Big Dipper. Is this just coincidence?
Jupiter (Jove) Father of the gods ---- Juno (The Dove) Queen of Heaven ---- Mars god of war, Bacchus (weeping), Dionysus (the sin bearer from d'ion-nuso-s)
1 Aries (kebes: a sacrificial lamb) is the sign of The Ram. Because of its association with the ram, it corresponds to the Hebrew month Nisan (first month), which was originally called Aviv (a young ear of grain) in the Bible, the first month of the religious year, the seventh month of the civil year. Nisan has 30 days in it and begins in the Spring around the vernal equinox1. In Ge 3:21 we read: The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. The word for skin is 'or and always refers to the hide of animals after skinning. With this in mind, this verse refers to the first sacrifice, and was probably of a ram. Aries is derived from Arioch or Arius (perhaps from 'arah: to wander), the grandson of Semiramis. It's ruling planet is Mars (from Bab: mar or mavor; the rebel), which was named after the Roman god of war ( a symbol of Nimrod as the Conquering King (Ge 10:8-10)). Mars was the son of Jupiter, king of the gods, and his wife Juno (The Dove). Its Hebrew (He)symbol is pei, the seventeenth letter of the alphabet. Pei represents power and solitude. In Eden, Adam was given all power to rule the Earth, and was originally alone in solitude. Its element is fire, which is represented by shin the Eternal Fire.
Vulcan ---- Venus goddess of beauty and sexual desires ---- Cupid god of love
2 Taurus (par: a sacrificial bull) is the sign of The Bull. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Iyyar which was originally called Ziv (to be prominent; properly, brightness) in the Bible. Iyyar is the second month of the religious year, the eighth month of the civil year. Iyyar has 29 days in it. Taurus is derived from the Bab. tur (Heb.: shur): bull; ruler, and as such represented all the Babylonian rulers (starting with Nimrod) as a creature half bull half man. The ruling planet is Venus, who was the wife of Vulcan. Vulcan is identified with the Greek god Hephaestus (The Scatterer), who was Cush². Venus is represented by the letter dalet, the fourth letter in the Hebrew. Dalet represents fertility and solitude. In Eden, Adam was given Eve, her fertility enabled her to be the Mother of Mankind, they started in solitude. Venus is named after the goddess of love and beauty. She was the wife of Vulcan, god of metalwork, but she was often unfaithful to him, having affairs with Mars, Adonis, the shepherd and Anchises, the father of Aeneas. Its element is Earth, which has no elemental representation in the Hebrew.
Jupiter (Jove) ---- Maia - --- Mercury messenger of the gods
3 Gemini (Hata'owm: twins (always in the plural)) is the sign of The Twins. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Sivan (third month), the third month of the religious year, the ninth month of the civil year. Sivan has 30 days in it. The ruling planet is Mercury, which is represented by the letter bet in the Hebrew. Bet represents wisdom and folly. Wisdom is synonymous with righteousness and folly is synonymous with unrighteousness:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise. Ps 111:10 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Ps 14:1
Some sources identify this sign with the brothers Jacob and Esau, but due to the antiquity of astrology, it is better to identify it with two earlier brothers. Cain and Abel were twin brothers, the one (Abel) was righteous in God's eyes and showed wisdom, the other (Cain) was not and showed folly. Because of God's rejection of Cain's offering, Cain slew Abel. Mercury derives its name from the Roman god who was the son of Jupiter and Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. He is synonymous with Hermes (son of Ham) which is Cush (the father of Nimrod) who was the messenger of the gods. Cush, who is also known as Chaos, is the author of confusion, turning wisdom into folly at Babyl. The element of Gemini is air, which is represented by aleph, which is the paradox of God and man in one.
Tammus (the lamented one) ---- Ashtarte (Ishtar) (the woman that built towers)
Tammus was also depicted as the son of Semiramis
4 Cancer (sur: to turn aside, depart(?)) is the sign of The Crab. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Tammuz (from Sum. (dumuzi: the Quickener of the Child), which is the fourth month of the religious year, the tenth month of the civil year. Tammuz has 29 days in it. The ruling planet is the moon, which is represented by the letter gimel in the Hebrew. Gimel represents grace and indignation. The crab walks sideways and thus represents Adam as the one turning aside from righteousness and the covenant of Eden. In indignation God pronounced the judgment of death upon the man, in grace God tempered that judgment by expelling man from Eden and postponing his death. The Moon is a representation of Semiramis as the Queen of Heaven. The moon was thought to influence fertility; the women wore moon-shaped pendants, as discovered in archaeological finds and as mentioned by Isaiah in his admonition: On that day, my Lord will strip off the finery of the anklets, the fillets, and the crescents.³ According to a Talmudic legend the sun and moon were equal in luminosity at the time of creation; God subsequently diminishes the moon's radiance, but regrets having done so. The midrash predicts that in the Messianic Age, the moon will regain the radiance and luminosity it enjoyed at the beginning of time⁴. The element of Cancer is water, which is represented by mem, the Fountain of Wisdom.
Osiris (The Seed: He-siri) ---- Isis (The Woman: H'isha) (sister/wife)---- Horus (son of the burnt one)
5 Leo (arie: from a root word which means gather, pluck: lion⁵) is the sign of The Loin. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Av (father), the fifth month of the religious year, the eleventh month of the civil year. Av has 30 days in it. The name Av is of Akk. origin and is often given as Menahem Av (Comforter Father). The ruling planet is the Sun, which is represented by the letter resh in the Hebrew. Resh represents peace and war. The lion represents both Satan (1Pe 5:8), the one who destroys and puts us at war with God, and Christ (Re 5:5), the Prince of Peace who puts us at peace with God. Its element is fire, which is represented by shin the Eternal Fire
Jupiter (Jove) ---- Maia -- -- Mercury messenger of the gods
6 Virgo (betula: virgin, maid, maiden) is the sign of The Virgin. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Elul ('elul: sixth month), the sixth month in the religious calendar and the twelfth and last in the civil year. Elul has twenty-nine days. The name Elul is Babylonian in origin and first occurs in the book of Nehemiah⁶. As Virgo this represents Eve, who was conceived in innocence. Later it came to represent Semiramis as the Virgin Mother. Ham was most likely the father of Semiramis. Cush (the son of Ham) was the husband of Semiramis, his son, Nimrod, married her later on. The ruling planet is Mercury, which is represented by the letter bet in the Hebrew. Bet represents wisdom and folly (see Gemini). Remember the meaning of Mercury? The element of Virgo is earth.
7 Libra (mazan: balances or scales) is the sign of The Scales. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Tishrei (from Akk. tashritu: to begin) it is also known as Ethanim (the month of steady flow), the seventh month in the religious year, the first month in the civil year. Tishrei always has 30 days in it. It is related to the word Libra homiletically⁷ to the penitential season at the beginning of the month known as Aseret Yemei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance) from the first to the tenth of Tishrei. Anubis, the director of the weight, would place a vase full of the good actions of the deceased on one side of his scale and an emblem of truth on the other. If the scales tipped to the deceased favor, they would go to Heaven, if not then they would go to Hell.
Saturn (The Hidden One ) ---- Ops (The Flutterer) - Jupiter, Pluto god of the underworld
8 Scorpio (`aqrab: scorpion) is the sign of The Scorpion. It corresponds to the Hebrew month Heshvan (also called Bul, which comes from badal: to be separated). Heshvan is the shortened form of the word Marheshvan, the mar prefix meaning bitter, since this is the only month that does not have any feasts or celebrations in it. Heshvan has 29 or 30 days in it, depending on the cycle year of the calendar. The ruling planet is Pluto. Pluto is derived from lut; to hide, with the Egyptian definite article p' attached: p'lut and means the hidden one. As such, this represents Satan, who hid himself in the form of a serpent, Adam, who hid himself among the trees in the Garden, Noah, who hid himself in the ark and Nimrod, who hid himself in the Babylonian Mysteries. Pluto was the Roman god of the dead (the counterpart of Hades). The element of Scorpio is water, which is represented by mem, the Fountain of Wisdom.
9 Sagittarius (keshet: a bow) is the sign of the Centaur. The word Centaur comes from kehn-tor: priest of the revolver (Sun). The Centaur was half horse and half man and represented Nimrod as the conquering horseman. Sagittarius corresponds to the Hebrew month Kislev (Bab. origin), the ninth month in the religious year, the third month in the civil year. Kislev is like Heshvan in that it has 29 or 30 days in it, depending on the cycle year of the calendar. Sometimes both months have 29 days in them, sometimes they both have 30 days in them, and sometimes Heshvan has 29 and Kislev has 30 days in it. The ruling planet of Sagittarius is Jupiter, which is represented by the letter kaph in Hebrew. Kaph represents life and death. The first Adam introduced death into the world, the second Adam conquered that death with His own death and gave man eternal life. The element of Sagittarius is fire, which is represented by shin the Eternal Fire.
Dagon (half man half fish) ---- Derketo
10 Capricorn (gedi: goat) is the sign of the goat-fish. As such it represents the two primal fathers of mankind; Adam (represented by the goat) and Noah (represented by the fish). Capricorn corresponds to the Hebrew month Tevet, the tenth month of the religious year, the fourth month of the civil year. Tevet is of Bab. origin and always has 29 days in it. The ruling planet of Capricorn is Saturn, which is represented by the letter tau in Hebrew. Tau represents riches and poverty. Adam started with the riches of the world and traded it for poverty by his sin. The element of Capricorn is earth.
11 Aquarius (deli: bucket) is the sign of the Water-bearer. Aquarius corresponds to the Hebrew month Shevat (Bab. origin), which is the eleventh month of the religious year, the fifth month of the civil year. Shevat always has 30 days in it. The ruling planet is Uranus. Uranis means heavenly and represents the Holy Spirit (Ge 1:2). The element of Aquarius is air, which is represented by aleph, the paradox of God and man in one.
Dagon (half man half fish) ---- Derketo 12 Pisces (dag or dagah: fish) is the sign of The Fish, which represents the fish-god Dagon (Nimrod). Pisces corresponds to the Hebrew month Adar (Bab. origin), which has 29 days in it except during leap years when a thirteenth month (Adar Sheni (second Adar)) is added when it has 30 days in it. Adar Sheni always has 29 days in it. Adar is the twelfth month of the religious year, the sixth month of the civil year. The ruling planet is Neptune. Neptune was the god of the sea, and thus offered regeneration through baptism in water. The element of Pisces is water, which is represented by mem, the Fountain of Wisdom.
1) The Sun is at the vernal equinox about March 21 and at the autumnal equinox about September 23, however, Nisan can begin as early as March 11 and as late as April 8. 2) Cush in the original language is khawos, without the vaw it is khaos (or Chaos). Cush was the husband of Semiramus until his son Nimrod became king, at that time Semiramus became the wife of Nimrod. 3) Is 3:18 4) Psalms 89:38; Hullin 60b 5) Other words for lion are shahal, lebi, layish, kepir, but ariy is the generic term used. 6) Ne 6:15 7) From homily: a sermon typically on a scriptural topic; an admonitory or moralizing discourse; an inspirational saying.
Please turn the page.part 2.