BET EMET MINISTRIES

Hebrew For "The House Of Truth"

Craig M. Lyons Ms.D., D.D., M.Div.

bennoah1@verizon.net

TRACING THE SUN THROUGH THE ZODIAC & GEMINI...COULD THIS BE THE ORIGIN FOR THE "JESUS STORY" #7

GEMINI & JESUS: MAY 21-JUNE 21

We ended the last article looking at the correlations between the "Jesus Story" in the New Testament and the path of the Sun through the Zodiac, in particular the constellation Taurus as it parallels the depiction of the "Jesus Story" taken chronologically throughout the New Testaments' depiction of Jesus Christ. We have traced the "Jesus Story" not only through the Heavens as it parallels the path of the Sun through the Zodiac when "personified" and "allegorized" but have seen the genius of the Creator to inscribe upon the Heavens above His will for mankind and their "Spiritual Evolution". We have traced the Sun through the previous Houses of the Zodiac and when "personified" and with the aid of "anthropomorphic" language we have seen how the "Evolution of the Soul in matter" has been told through the "myths" and "legends" of sungods. The irony of this whole thing is that the "Jesus Story" is the story of the birth, life, growth, and death of the Soul in this physical realm we call "life". This "Jesus Story" is a "plan-o-gram" for mankind to follow and emulate as were many of the prior "sungod" stories as well. We have seen beginning with Capricorn that man was born into this physical world with the necessity of a "2nd birth" which is symbolized as we move to the House of Aquarius where we find the symbolic immersion into a "watery womb" or a "watery tomb" in baptism where as Judaism teaches man receives the "Soul that comes down from Heaven" and is "born again". We saw that this imagery of being "born again in water" is accompanied with "repentance" as seen in the immersion of John the Baptist and his "baptism of repentance". We saw that the language of John is very important as he lays out the desired growth of man's Soul; for it must increase as the power of his flesh decreases. We immediately move from this even in our spiritual growth to a full-blown war with our soul as we must fight the "darkness" within seen in the allegory of "Jesus' Temptation" with the Devil. This is but a picture of the Sun and its eternal battle with "darkness" again symbolized in the "Jesus Story" in Jesus' temptation where the "spirit" and "flesh" battle continuously. The Soul is intended to increase in strength over our flesh as we live out our lives and continually reflect more of the light of God daily as does the Sun in it new ascending path in the Heavens. We saw as we moved to Pisces that as we grow "spiritually" we must feed ourselves "the bread that comes down from Heaven" before we can feed others and become "fishers of men". Thus the symbolism of Pisces which stresses again the need for this bread due to the "intersection" in Heaven of these "two fish" or "2 natures in man; spiritual and fleshly". As we live a life of repentance unto good works we accomplish such a goal when fed the true "manna" of God. We then followed God's Sun into the Constellation of Aries where we first met up with the idea of "sacrifice" in relationship to the Lamb of God. We learned from this that God was teaching us that we are to become "living sacrifices", holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service while at the same time we are not conformed to this world continue to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in order that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2...KJV). We next found ourselves at the Spring Equinox were we learned that this is a special time with God and man which speaks God's Harmony and peace to all Creation. We also learned that this is the Harvest time when the Earth brings forth her fruit. We made note of the need for our fruit in our lives that comes through good works and obedience to the Commandments of God were according to Judaism we find and receive our atonement. As living sacrifices according to the Hebrew Scriptures we accomplish our own atonement. As we moved with the Sun into the Constellation of Taurus we saw the repeated emphasis upon "sacrifice" and continued fruitfulness on a large scale; a scale large enough to reach the world with this true message of maturation of man's Soul. We camped a little while here as we contrasted the Houses of Aries and Taurus for parallels between them and the unbelievable similarities between the "personified Sun" as "Mithra" and as "Jesus" in the New Testament. We move must move on with the Sun as it never sleeps and move with it into the House of Gemini and learn the next "Spiritual Lesson" that God has for us as we learn of the maturation of the Divine within matter; ie., our Souls.

Now we continue to go more deeply as we trace the Sun in its path through the Zodiac as it leaves Taurus and enters the constellation of Gemini. We by now are familiar with the astronomical concept that the Sun goes on a journey through the Zodiac during the 12 months of the year. We have been following this journey of the Sun and we have seen how uncannily the path of the Sun through the Zodiac matches up with the chronological depiction of "Jesus" and the journey that Jesus takes during his life and ministry as depicted by the writers of the New Testament. We have seen that according to the writers of the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus' ministry is said to last a year. We have also seen that the Sun completes its circuit of the Zodiac in a year. This is not a coincidence. We now look at the constellation Gemini to see the continuing struggle of the Sun against the darkness and note the parallels to the depiction of Jesus and his ministry as recorded in the New Testament.

The constellation of Gemini has been seen as twin figures by cultures throughout the world, back into prehistory. The 'Two Stars', referring to its very bright suns, which the Greeks recognized as Castor and Polydeuces, were named for the younger and elder forms of the god Horus by the Egyptians. To the Romans they were Hercules and Apollo. Often perceived as twin boys, the lore sustains that they were placed in the night sky by Jove to honor and exemplify the fidelity of their brotherly love. In other instances they were seen as a sister and brother or two angels, then within later Christian traditions, as Adam and Eve.

Stories of hero twins are also related throughout the world. For the Greeks their was Castor and Polydeuces, also known as the Dioscuri, or Heavenly Twins. They were the children of Zeus and Leda, queen of Sparta (yes...you may call them: 'sons of the swan.'), thus also the brothers to the infamous Helen, late of Troy. The exploits of these twins are many, and all heroic. In their youth they sailed with Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece. To the Romans, who knew them as Castor and Pollux, the twins were invoked on the field of battle to assure victory. For centuries beyond they were held as guardians to sailors on extended or risky voyages.

LETS LEARN SOME ASTRONOMY BEFORE WE LOOK AT THE THEOLOGY

We have not up to this time spent a lot of time with the Summer Solstice but our time has come as we find the Sun struggling to rise to the zenith of its path across the Heavens where it will eventually reach the apex of its path which is the Summer Solstice. Let us not forget the Sun, since raised from the dead at the Winter solstice has been ascending in the Sky on its way to its zenith. Associated with this path of the Sun across the Sky is the constellation Gemini. The constellation Gemini is traditionally depicted as two men (the twins). The two brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux (north of the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor), are two of the brightest stars in the sky and were identified by the Greeks with two children, in most accounts the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. As indicated by the "twins of Gemini" this is a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches onward to its zenith. This path of the Sun to its zenith in the Sky ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. It is at this time that the Sun is at the peak of its strength. In the northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. The Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. It is the time of the greatest light. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer solstice and Winter solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal equinox and Autumnal equinox. People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the Summer solstice. On this day, typically Jun 21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer.

Let us not forget that the seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the Sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. As mentioned above the time of the year when the Sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the Summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. On the Summer Solstice, which occurs on June 21, the Sun is at its highest path through the sky and the day is the longest. Because the day is so long the Sun does not rise exactly in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west allowing it to be in the sky for a longer period of time. After the Summer solstice the Sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day until it reaches the point where it is in the sky for exactly 12 hours again. This is the Fall or Autumn Equinox. Just like the Spring Equinox, the Sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west on this day and everyone in the world will experience a 12 hour day. After the Fall Equinox the Sun will continue to follow a lower and lower path through the sky and the days will grow shorter and shorter until it reaches its lowest path and then we are back at the Winter Solstice where we started.

The Summer solstice typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, Jun. 21 which is the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about Dec. 21 and is the Winter solstice which is the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum. We get the word "Solstice", from the Latin for "Sun stands still", in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°). For several days before and after each solstice the Sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day. At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of Summer solstice, about June 22, the Sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

Now that the technical information is out of the way we now focus on the fact that in pre-historic times, Summer was a joyous time of the year for those Ancient people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. This is the time of the first harvest, which usually consisted of the herbs planted during the Vernal Equinox. Other crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable. Midsummer has been one of the important solar events throughout the evolution of humankind. It was an indicator that the year was about to begin waning, thus winter would be again returning. Although not all the ancients were as precise in the calculations from an astronomical point, you can be sure that they were keenly aware of the Sun's progression, and did most assuredly know when Solstice was upon them, as the Sun appeared to stand still in its northern progression.

The ancients knew that life came from the Sun, it was life giving, life supporting, without it life would be lost. The Sun was viewed as the Ancient's "Savior" of sorts. The journey of the Sun impacted life at every level in the course of time, only relatively recently with the advances of electricity, greenhouses, transportation networks, has human reliance on the passage of the Sun been lessened. Even with this dependence lessening, in this technological age, necessity of the Sun and its path is crucial to our existence, however it is not as apparent today to many. Midsummer is the time when the Sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest.

NOW SOME THEOLOGY

We say in the previous article that Jesus, in the form of the personified Sun, passed through Taurus and in so doing likewise passed across the Milky Way which is that starry band of millions of stars that lies like a lake across the sky. We saw that at this point in the "Jesus Story" Jesus crosses "the lake" and we as expected found the allegorical story of Jesus walking on water.

Answer for yourself: What happens as the Sun moves past Taurus and the Milky Way?

On the star map provided I want the reader to look to the bottom right and locate the "Hyades" which is part of the Constellation of Taurus. If you draw a diagonal line ascending from bottom right to upper left you come to another Constellation named Gemini. This path between the "Hyades" in Taurus and ascending to Gemini is called the "Ecliptic" and this is the path of the Sun as it moves through the Zodiac in the Heavens. In our study it is important to note as seen in the reference above Sun crossing the "water" or "milky way" in the Heavens which is later retold in the "personified Jesus Story" as Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee and walking on water. After the Sun crosses the Milky Way it moves into the constellation Gemini called "the twins" Castor and Pollox (the two bright stars in Gemini are named Castor and Pollux).

Answer for yourself: What do we find Jesus doing in the gospels right after crossing the lake? We find an account of Jesus healing the sick but how many? How many people is Jesus healing? He is only healing "two".

If our premise holds we should expect to find Jesus associated with "two" (Castor and Pollox) people and that is exactly what we find. In the "Jesus Story", after crossing the lake (which we saw was Jesus as the personified Sun crossing the Milky Way), Jesus heals two demon possessed men.

Matt 8:28-34 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Does the New Testament mention Castor and Pollux? It sure does

Answer for yourself: Is this just a coincidence that Jesus meets two men that need to be healed or is this again symbolic for the constellation Gemini as the Sun moves through the Zodiac?

Acts 28:11 11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. (KJV)

We made mention earlier of the connection of the Harvest with this time of the year around Summer when the Sun enters Gemini. This is a time of increase or doubling as the Sun continually rises in the Sky to its Zenith and its peak of strength. This is especially so noting the connection of Shavuot, or Pentecost, with the sign of Gemini. In Matt. 12:1 we find Jesus and his disciples going through the fields full of grain plucking the heads of grain to eat. As you can see the seasons are advancing.

Matt 12:1 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. (KJV)

We find in the "Jesus Story" the masterful strength portrayed by Jesus in his teachings where he pronounces that like the Sun his strength is without limit and beyond contest:

Matt 12:8 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (KJV)

No one can challenge Jesus and win or try to usurp his power for none can win for we find Jesus in all his glory and majesty in his ministry portrayed at this time which is keeping in symbolism of the Sun moving to its Zenith where its light is at its greatest. This great power of the "personified Sun" in the allegory of the "Jesus Story" is seen in Jesus ability to control the "darkness of the physical realm" as witnessed in the many accounts of the miracles of Jesus over "demons" in the New Testament. Let us not forget what we previously learned about the "Devil" being "personified darkness".

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matt 12:23-24 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Is Jesus being challenged by these evil Pharisees accurate to Jewish theology and Jewish history? No not really as we show in other articles where Jesus was likewise supposedly challenged by the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath and eating of the Sabbath. Jewish law allows for both healing on the Sabbath as well as plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath when one's life is endangered and we find Jesus in the text fleeing from Herod Antipas. This action would be perfectly permissible by Jewish Law but the writers of the New Testament had to show the opposition to Jesus and did so by misrepresenting the Pharisees. This dualism between light and darkness and it constant and eternal struggle is pictured in these false representations of the Pharisees.

We mentioned previously that at the Solstices, both the Winter and the Summer Solstices, the earth's tilt reaches it maximum and begins to retrograde and along with this it appear that the Earth has remained motionless or "dead" once again in 3 years. In keeping with the parallel of the personification of the Sun and the life and evolution of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament we should expect to find at this particular time in the ministry of Jesus some reference to "death for 3 days".

Answer for yourself: Do we find such a reference in sequence to the events in the life of this Jesus as found in the Gospel account of a death for 3 days? We sure do!

Matt 12:38-40 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (KJV)

Here we find, in sequential order in the Gospels mind you, Jesus' reference to the Summer Solstice and the 3 days of death of Jonas where he is in the belly of the big fish. This teaching of Jesus occurs when the Sun is in Gemini which is the time of the Summer Soltice. This death of Jonas is likened by Jesus to his own coming death at the next Solstice which is 6 months away, the Winter Solstice, were like Jonas he will remain dead for 3 days like the Sun is dead for 3 days before being resurrected again.

Answer for yourself: Is this just a lucky coincidence that when the Sun remains "dead" in the Heavens and Sky for 3 days, at the Summer and Winter Solstice, we find Jonas dead for 3 days and later Jesus dead 3 days?

We find associated with this event the challenge of those bad Pharisees that seem to be constantly challenging Jesus in the "Jesus Story" just like the Sun is constantly challenged by the darkness continually in its rise to its zenith of strength at the Summer solstice in Gemini.

John 3:19-21 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (KJV)