Astro-Worship
The Sun, the Moon, the Stars... Oh my!
“And
when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars — all the forces
of heaven — don't be seduced by them and worship them. The LORD your God
designated these heavenly bodies for all the peoples of the earth.”
Deuteronomy 4:19-20
Who were the ancient gods?
The ancient authorities: Epicharmos (c. 540-450 BCE), Prodikos (5th cent. BCE); Caesar (100-40 BCE) and Herodotus (484-25 BCE) all knew that the gods were astronomical, the sun, moon, stars and planets, and elemental, water, fire, wind, or natural, rivers and springs.
From Genesis the tower of Babel to the
Egyptian star (sun) worship which was the basis of worshiping Osiris. The
Sumerian civilization is the earliest civilization in history (5300 BC) they
were located in Mesopotamia know as the cradle of civilization today modern day
southeastern Iraq.
The reality is that the ancient gods
were mainly astro-theological and based on natural, earthly forces. From the
Sumerian civilization we learned our numbering system, time, calendar, solar
system and zodiac signs.
The 3 magi’s we know were wise men from
"the East," most likely Persia, or modern-day Iran. The wise men were guided to look for the King
of the Jews by a miraculous stellar event, the "Star of Bethlehem,"
which they called "His star" (Matthew 2:2).
The Mayan calendar is
also based from the Suma’s calendar.
Many ancient peoples regarded the Moon as the chief of the two luminaries. The sun was of smaller importance than the moon in the eyes of the Babylonian astrologers.
In the oldest literature of Egypt, Babylonia, India, and
China—and still exists today in various parts of the world, particularly among
certain African and Native American groups. Moon worship is founded on the
belief that the phases of the moon and the growth and decline of plant, animal,
and human life are related.
In some societies food was laid out at
night to absorb the rays of the moon, which were thought to have power to cure
disease and prolong life. Among the Baganda of central Africa it was customary
for a mother to bathe her newborn child by the light of the first full moon.
The moon was frequently equated with
wisdom and justice, as in the worship of the Egyptian god Thoth and the
Mesopotamian god Sin. In general, however, the moon has been the basis for many
amorous legends and some superstitions (madmen were once considered to be
moonstruck, hence the term lunatic) and is particularly important in the
practice of astrology.
The Assyrians and the Chaldeans referred
to the time of the Moon-god as the oldest period in the memory of the people:
before other planetary gods came to dominate the world ages, the Moon was the
supreme deity. Such references are found in the inscriptions of Sargon II (ca.
-720) and Nabonidus (ca. -550). The Babylonian Sin—the Moon—was a very ancient
deity: Mount Sinai owes its name to Sin.
Assyrian art reflects this moon
influence far more strikingly than that of Panammu I. The figure of himself
which he caused to be carved in relief on the left side of the palace-inscription
is in the Assyrian style , and so too is another of his reliefs from Zenjirli.
On the latter Bar-rekub is represented seated upon his throne with eunuch and
scribe in attendance, while in the field is the emblem of full moon and
crescent, here ascribed to "Ba`al of Harran", the famous center of
moon-worship in Northern Mesopotamia.
The Moon, appearing as a body larger
than the Sun, was endowed by the imagination of the peoples with a masculine
role, while the Sun was assigned a feminine role. Many languages reserved a
masculine name for the Moon. It was
probably when the Moon was removed to a greater distance from the earth and
became smaller to observers on the earth, that another name, usually feminine,
came to designate the Moon in most languages.
The Great Ziggurat (Stairway for the Gods) was built as a place of worship, dedicated to the moon god Nanna (or Sin), in the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia. The temple which resembles a huge stepped platform was constructed approximately in the 21st century BC by king Ur-Nammu. In Sumerian times it was called Etemennigur. Today, after more than 4000 years, the ziggurat is still well preserved in large parts as the only major remainder of Ur in present-day southern Iraq.
Jehovah God called Abraham who lived in Ur of the Chaldees the most important cult-center of the moon-god in Mesopotamia “The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran” Genesis 12:1-4
The false religion of astrology which was begun at Babel was practiced there as it was in all Babylonia. Abraham's father, Terah according to Joshua 24:2, worshiped idols. Jewish tradition refers to Terah as an idol maker. Ur was an idolatrous city worshiping many different Gods such as the god of fire, moon, sun and stars. Sin was the name of the chief idol deity of Ur. Ningal, was the wife of the moon-god, Sin, and was worshiped as a mother God in many other cities. Ur was an evil and sinful city as can be seen in the worship practices of the moon-goddess, Ningal. Every female in the city at some time in her life would have to take her turn in serving as a priestess prostitute in the temples.
In the Old Testament we will find frequent mention of the names “Baal” and “Ashteroths”. For instance the Assyrian influence, the moon cult was introduced into Judah by King Manasseh "He rebuilt the shrines that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars for Baal and made a sacred post, as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the hosts of heaven and worshiped them." (2 Kings 21:3)
Judges 10:6 “Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
Let’s start with the Baals.
The name “Baal” means “master” or “ruler of”. The name “Baal”, used
alone, is the name of the supreme god of the Canaanites.
1 Kings 18:19 states: “Now therefore, send and gather all Israel
to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the
four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
Baal is the Canaanite sun god and in
control of all things. On one hand, he is supposed to give light by which
things grown, and on the other hand, he gives the withering summer heat.
Human sacrifices were offered to Baal and when you read the term “passing
through the fire” as in 2 Kings 16:3 and 2 Kings 21:6, you’re reading about a
human sacrifice to this idol.
2 Kings 16:2-3 “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel.”
Underneath this supreme Baal,
people worshipped local deities. Thus, we’ll find names like Baal of Peor, Baal
of Hermon, Baal-Lebanon, Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub, and so on. Each of
these is worshipped as the ruler of something. Some were rulers of a
locality, such as Baal of Peor, while others were rulers of things. Baal-zebub,
for instance, was ruler of the flies. In that culture and time, flies
were a big pest; therefore it was tempting to worship the Lord of the Flies
that perhaps he might withdraw his forces.
While Baal was the Sun-God, Ashteroth was the Moon-Goddess. The temple or sign of Ashteroth was frequently a tree-trunk, and called an “Asherim”. Thus we read in Judges 6, the Lord speaking to Gideon:
Judges 6:25-26 “Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, "Take your father's young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.”
The “wooden image” or
“grove” that is mentioned in the KJV that Gideon is to cut down and burn is an
ashteroth. We know this from the Hebrew word from which the English is
translated and that word is “asherah”. In this place, there is an altar
of Baal and a wooden image next to it- the Sun god and Moon goddess,
together. Gideon’s task was to destroy the altar and use the wood of the
goddess’ temple to offer a burn offering to the Lord.
Similar but different to the Ashteroth, is the name “Asherah”, which we saw in 1 Kings 18:19 where Elijah called forth the prophets of Baal and “the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." According to Canaanite history, Asherah was the wife of war-god Asir, from whom comes the name Assyria. She was a goddess of fertility and, as such, the “prophets of Asherah” were usually prostitutes or sex-slaves of that temple. Thus, Elijah calls forth the prophets of Baal who would be all men, and the prophets of Asherah who were likely all women (note that they eat at Jezebel’s table).
Is Astro worship prevalent in today's society?
Asherah is also called an earth goddess, the thinking being that from the earth springs fertility. Now does this ring a bell? If not, let me ring that bell for you- “Mother Nature”. When people say things like “Mother Nature has sent us rain” or “Mother Nature’s storm” to whom are they giving credit for the weather? Certainly not to God Almighty!
Muslim’s today are completely oblivious that all Arabian tribes worshipped different gods.
Muhammad was born into the Quraysh Tribe which worshipped Al-ilah? Al-ilah was
the chief god of the Quraysh tribe, the city of Mecca, and the Kaaba located in
Mecca.
Al-ilah (the god) was chief god among
360 pagan gods of Arabia. Centuries before Muhammad, the Meccan temple (Kaaba)
was named Beit Allah (House of God).
Collier’s Encyclopedia notes that long before Islam, many Arabs worshipped Al-ilah and the Koran. Muhammad was taught that Meccan’s believed in this chief god called Al-ilah, plus three minor deities called “The Daughter’s of Al-ilah”.
When Muhammad gained power and began asserting his authority, the Muslim creed’s first article became “La-ilaha illa-Llahu, meaning “there is no god except the one you already know as Al-ilah. So Islam and Al-ilah was derived from heathen Arabian worshippers of idols. Muhammad later prohibited worship of “The Daughter’s of Al-ilah” and any of the other 359 pagan gods of Arabian tribes.
In Hinduism, constellations and planets have religious significance, and exercise influence over mundane affairs. The belief is that all divine spirits move around the earth in the circular formation known as the zodiac (Charak 10). And the zodiac serves as a border or boundary within which gods. The horoscope connected with the sun has to do with quality of life and the cosmic energy that flows through an individual.
Astro- Worship is related to the mystery religion of Babylon, and all religions are invested with it to some degree. In the not too distant future a time is coming when the world religion of the tribulation, the Mystery Babylon, will call upon all idol worshipers on earth to worship one idol, the image of Antichrist. "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed" (Rev. 13:15).
The mystery Babylon in Romanism with all her celestial veneration will finally achieve the greatest re-alignment of all religion bring further the World Church of 2017 forecasted by the United Churches of the Americas to be held on All Saints Day.
Jesus gives us a word of encouragement as we enter these perilous spiritual days coming over the horizon. "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:28
Maranatha!