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BETHLEHEM 2000


Yassar Arafat: Defender of the Faith


 
 

Yasser Arafat is the sponsor of Bethlehem 2000, a Palestianian project which will coordinate many Bimillennial celebrations over a 16 month period. President Arafat has invited all of Christendom to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ starting at Christmas 1999 through Easter 2001.

The miraculous birth of Jesus Christ with his promise of peace, hope and redemption marks a turning point in the history of mankind. Such an occasion calls for serious reflection on the human condition. It is time to review the past and to define goals and guidelines for the path of our future...

The Bethlehem 2000 Project was established in March 1997 through a presidential decree and was declared to be a high priority project for the Palestinian people.

The Project is headed by H. E. President Yasser Arafat. A General Co-ordinator, Minister Dr. Nabeel Kassis, oversees the implementation of the project.

Posturing as the friend of Christianity, Arafat proposes to revitalize the city of Bethlehem. Note the subtle detraction of the state of Israel for being remiss in maintaining the Christian heritage:
Bethlehem possesses a tremendous cultural heritage, the most famous part of which is the Church of the Nativity. However this heritage has not been well maintained and many valuable assets are in a state of near collapse. In addition to this, years of neglect has left Bethlehem with hopelessly inadequate infrastructure and services.
Nor is Arafat ashamed to flatter Christians to gain support for his war against Israel.
Bethlehem is the true source of the Millennium. No other celebration can make this claim. The watchword, therefore, will be authenticity, and Bethlehem will capitalise on this unique quality in appealing to a broad international audience. The catch phrase will be Bethlehem, the Star of the Millennium. A well thought out and carefully sequenced multi-year marketing and public relations programme has been developed to support the celebrations. The core target audience will be the large world-wide constituency of Christians (numbering over one billion), but the entire programme will be designed to appeal to visitors of other religious persuasions and varied interests.
If Israel does not cooperate with the "peace" negotiations, it is almost certain the Jews will be blamed for spoiling the Christian celebrations.
Credible sources estimate the likely visitation to the Holy Land during the celebrations be of the order of 4.0 million, assuming the political and security situation does not deteriorate.
Arafat has also established a trust fund for Christians and churches to donate to his $212 million program to revitalize Bethlehem.
A special Bethlehem 2000 Trust Fund has also been established to act a vehicle for international fund raising. As noted above, the entire programme is estimated to cost approximately US$ 212 million...
 
Bethlehem 2000 Ecumenical Celebrations

ECUMENICAL NEWS SERVICE
8 October 1998

Israeli and Catholic officials prepare for arrival of millions of pilgrims

The opening of the ecumenical celebrations for the new millennium was scheduled for 4 December 1999 in Bethlehem, with plans for a joint procession of leaders from all the churches,* said Dr Hagopian.

We have to highlight the fact that this is not a promotional gimmick, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and therefore it has a distinctly and firmly Christian ethos."

He added that there needed to be co-operation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to ensure the success of the events.

"The Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, has rejected a report in an Israeli newspaper, the Jerusalem Post, which claims that the Palestinian Authority is attempting to exercise control over Christian churches in the region. The newspaper claimed that this effort 'began with its takeover of churches in Bethlehem, including the Church of the Nativity, and has now extended to churches and Christian sites in Jerusalem.'"

In a statement issued on 5 October, Patriarch Sabbah said the Israeli report "has no foundation", and described it as part of "a mass-media war", according to Catholic World News. "No church pastor in all the Palestinian territories has reported to us of such interference or pressure on the churches by the Palestinian Authority," he said. "The Christian holy places, communities, churches, cemeteries, cultural and educational institutions, and vast land holdings are fully under Christian control and fully respected, and nobody ever tried to interfere."On the contrary," he added "we are grateful to the Palestinian Authority" for efforts to secure the rights of Christians, adding that Palestinian officials were "very sensitive to anything which concerns Christians."

Ecumenical News International
Tel: (41-22) 791 6087/6515 Fax: (41-22) 798 1346
E-Mail: eni@wcc-coe.org
PO Box 2100 150 route de Ferney CH-1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland
 


Arafat Uses Bethlehem 2000 to Attain Palestinian Statehood

RECENT ADDRESS TO THE U.N.
28 September 1998
Press Release
GA/9456

YASSER ARAFAT URGES PRESSURE ON ISRAEL TO CARRY OUT EXISTING AGREEMENTS AS HE MAKES FIRST ADDRESS IN ASSEMBLY'S GENERAL DEBATE

Other Speakers Cite Refugee Problems, Dangers on Korean Peninsula, Ill Effects of Globalization

The Government of Israel had intensified actions to escalate the siege against the Palestinian people and caused a stalemate of the peace process on the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese tracks, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, said as he addressed the General Assembly, during its general debate, for the first time.

Notwithstanding, the Palestinian people had not lost hope in the peace process, and would continue to implement their obligations in accordance with existing agreements, he said. The international community should exert pressure on the Israeli side to realize peace by implementing international agreements and resolutions. Eight million Palestinians, including the oldest and largest refugee question in the contemporary world, were being deprived of their right to exercise sovereignty over their land. Despite this, they had survived, preserved their national identity and would not give up their inalienable rights.

Jay Gary Let's Talk 2000
December 1, 1998, Volume 4, Issue 12

Not only did Santa Claus come to town in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, but St. Nick apparently put in an appearance in at the White House yesterday. Yasser Arafat sat on Bill Clinton's lap and got the good news of an additional American $400 million pledge over the next five years.

This new U.S. money was designed to spur stepped-up contributions from more than 40 nations assembled in D.C. by Clinton yesterday for a one-day conference on economic assistance for the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza. A total of one billion dollars in international aid was pledged.

It has been a good millennial month for Yasser Arafat, who is using his prized Bethlehem playing card to boost his chances to attain century-end self-determination and statehood for his Palestinian people.

After winning a second interim "land-for-peace" withdraw of Israeli troops at Wye Plantation in early November, Arafat then invited Britain's Queen Elizabeth to attend the 1999 December millennium celebrations in the town where Jesus was born. He then presided over the newly opened Gaza airport, which holds the promise of boosting the Palestinian economy and welcoming sympathetic European and Arab tourists to the Holy Land.

On November 18th, member nations of the U.N. General Assembly backed the Palestinian run Bethlehem 2000 commemorations with a resolution. See full coverage on this below in our lead feature. Will this millennial momentum make up for lost time in the Middle East peace process?"

ARUTZ-7 NEWS - December 13, 1998
NETANYAHU: NOT ONE INCH

At a joint press conference with President Clinton this afternoon in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that even if the Palestinian National Council holds an actual vote tomorrow on changing the PLO charter, "it will be good, but not enough." Netanyahu said that until the Palestinians fulfill all of their commitments, Israel "will not withdraw from another inch of territory." Clinton, who arrived in Israel last night, told the reporters that he had asked Congress to approve a special aid package of $1.2 billion to Israel to cover the costs of the next withdrawal. The American president said that he had received intelligence information regarding Jonathan Pollard, and that he will make a final decision regarding his release next month.

Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon was quite open with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright this morning. He told her, "I don't want to mislead you. Under the present circumstances, with the many Palestinian violations, Israel will not carry out the next stage of the withdrawal." Albright told him that she trusts him to come up with "creative solutions" to the crisis. She said that the Palestinians had not totally fulfilled their violations, but that it cannot be said that they did nothing. The government is expected, at its next meeting on Wednesday, to postpone the next phase of the withdrawal. Political observers feel that Netanyahu is attempting to appease the right-wing of his coalition with decisions of this nature. At the same time, Sharon continues his efforts to expand the government, turning first to David Levy, and then to a possible National Unity government.

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Clinton this morning, after the two leaders and their wives breakfasted together in Jerusalem this morning. Knesset Speaker Dan Tichon is boycotting all events in which Clinton is a participant, in protest of Clinton's decision not to speak at the Knesset. The American president will speak instead before students at the Jerusalem Convention Center.

HILARY AND CHELSEA TO HIGHLIGHT REFUGEES

Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that Jerusalem government sources fear that tomorrow's visit of Hilary and Chelsea Clinton to the Shati refugee camp in Gaza will be used for Palestinian propaganda purposes. "First of all," Huberman reported today, "both the Americans and Palestinians have been careful not to involve Israel in any of the details of the Clinton family visit to Gaza. Israel only learned of the visit through informal channels. The Palestinians are thus sending the clear message that they are fully in charge, and that they will host the Americans in Gaza as they see fit." The visit to the refugee camp "is a departure from the original plan, according to which they were supposed to visit a nursery school in Gaza, parallel to a similar visit by Mrs. Clinton today in Israel," Huberman explained.

What prompted the change? "A few months ago," explained Huberman, "Mrs. Clinton came out openly in support of a Palestinian state. When the President was pressured about her position, he said that this was only his wife's private opinion, and not official U.S. policy. The visit to the refugee camp is another one of Clinton's "test-balloons," with which he plans to test public reaction. It is hard to believe that the visit was arranged without Mrs. Clinton having coordinated it with her husband. The refugees represent an almost unsolvable problem between Israel and the Palestinians, the solution of which, from the Palestinian perspective, is only the "right of return." The PA hopes to get lots of mileage out of the visit to Shati, Huberman noted. "Just picture the scene: television cameras capture the First Lady as she wanders around the camp's shacks, surrounded by poverty on every corner. Palestinian officials will not hesitate to emphasize again and again that this is all Israel's fault." Israel's position [based on a background paper published by the Government Press Office] is that from 1948 until 1967, when hundreds of thousands of refugees lived in Arab territory, the Arab nations did little to alleviate their suffering, preferring to keep their bitterness and anger alive. Those in the Gaza Strip were denied citizenship or employment in Egypt, for instance. Arab countries contributed only about 5% of the total budget of UNRWA, which was charged with the task of helping the refugees.

UPDATE: ARUTZ-7 NEWS - January 6, 1999
ISRAEL REJECTS U.S. REJECTION OF DEMAND

The U.S. State Department rejects Israel's demand that the PA refrain from unilaterally declaring a state. State Department spokesman James Rubin said on Monday that this is a "new condition" not included in the Wye agreement and not supported by the U.S. David Bar-Illan, Director of Policy Planning and Communications in the Prime Minister's Office, said, "There are definite provisions in both the Oslo and Wye agreements against any change of status in the territories. A declaration of a Palestinian state would clearly be in violation of these clauses. The U.S. may claim that the Palestinians are only expressing their aspirations, but in fact this is a clear threat [to the status quo]." Although Rubin said that the U.S. wants Israel to continue its withdrawals, Israel is of the position that it can only do so if the Palestinians comply with their obligations...
 


House of Rothschild to Lead PA Investment Drive

"And as Peres, Kissinger, Tutu and Gorbachev plan the end of Israel's sovereignty from within the borders of Tel Aviv, a parallel NWO development is taking place in London, as reported in Haaretz." (Barry Chamish)

Monday, December 28, 1998
HA'ARETZ ISRAELI NEWSPAPER

Rothschild to lead PA investment drive

Ha'aretz Staff

The London-based ABN Amro Rothschild Bank plans to initiate investments in the Palestinian Authority and to try to induce other British financiers to do likewise, the Sunday Times said yesterday.

The bank's director, Jonathan Penkin, was part of a delegation to the Middle East last week that was headed by Lord Levene, the lord mayor of London, the paper said.

Levene was quoted as saying that investments in Palestinian projects represent "a substantial opportunity to get into a market on the ground floor." A byproduct of such investments, he said, would be that as the economy improved, greater job opportunities would arise, and people would become "less interested ... in throwing rocks at soldiers."

Among the projects that might prove attractive to City investors, Penkin listed commercial developments, the privatization of the telecommunications industry and other utilities in the area controlled by the PA, the Sunday Times said.

According to the paper, the head of the bank, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, takes a dim view of the current Israeli government's policies. "I feel very strongly that if one has a multi-ethnic community you must try to help all sides of the community to try to better themselves. A good economic base for Palestine must be beneficial for security and peace in the area," Sir Evelyn is quoted as stating.

Penkin declared that the tour had convinced him that there were no more risks involved in investing in Palestinian projects than in similar projects elsewhere in the world. "We encourage investors to invest in Lebanese, Jordanian and Gulf stocks," the paper reported him as saying after a visit to the fledgling Palestinian stock exchange in Nablus.

The mayor of Nablus, Ghassan al Shaka, told the paper that "investors can make money here."

Palestine Development and Investment (Padico), which was formed by 1,000 Palestinians, has already raised some 600 million pounds sterling, and has invest 100 million of it in various projects.

1998 Ha'aretz.

BETHLEHEM: The Star of the Millennium

The miraculous birth of Jesus Christ with his promise of peace, hope and redemption marks a turning point in the history of mankind. Such an occasion calls for profound reflection on the human condition. It is time to review the past and to define goals and guidelines for the path of our future. The Palestinian people wish to affirm that there is room in their hearts for all those who share this vision and this promise and who want to celebrate this unique event with us...
Bethlehem will be the Star of the Millennium. Peoples and all faiths are invited to participate and share the celebrations with the Palestinian people, and to make Bethlehem their place of annual pilgrimage thereafter.
These celebrations offer a chance to renew hope, promote sustainable development and help build a viable Palestinian economy. Most of all, it offers a chance to help promote peace and stability in a troubled world.
Yassar Arafat invited "people of all faiths" to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with the Palestinian people? Considering that other faiths besides Christianity are by their very nature opposed to Jesus Christ, what other "Christ" might "people of all faiths" have in common?

The authors of THE MESSIANIC LEGACY provide a clue. Attempting to prove that Christianity derived from the ancient mystery religions, apologists of Freemasonry, Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, mention that worship of the Sun-god as Tammuz was indigenous to Phoenicia (Lebanon) and that Bethlehem was a primary center of this worship:

"Like many other such deities Tammuz...the god of the ancient Sumerian and Phoenician mystery teachings, had been born of a virgin, died with a wound in his side and, after three days, rose from his tomb, leaving it vacant with the rock at the entrance rolled aside...It is significant that Bethlehem was not only David's city, but also the ancient center of a Tammuz cult, with a shrine that remained active will into biblical times." (pp. 78,79)
Ezekiel 8:13,14 record the idolatrous activities within the Temple of Jerusalem prior to God's final judgement on Judah in 586 B.C. In a vision of the Temple, the Lord said to Ezekiel: "Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz."

This chapter is describing a scene in which the elders of Jerusalem were worshipping an "image of jealousy" which was placed at the entry of the inner gate of the temple. (Ezekiel 8:3,5) The proper position of worship at the temple was toward the west where the Ark resided in the Holy of Holies. However, verse 16 of Ezekiel 8 portrays the apostate elders: "with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east." The Jewish elders who secretly worshipped the god Tammuz finds its complement in the later Jewish Kabbalists who, like the Freemasons, also worshipped the Sun-god.

In "The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion," Sir James George Frazer wrote of the later worship of Adonis, beloved of Venus, that was indigenous to Bethlehem. Jerome notes well the confusion of the Christian worship through the sharing of similar themes and rites:

"In this connexion a well-known statement of Jerome may not be without significance. He tells us that Bethlehem, the traditionary birthplace of the Lord, was shaded by a grove of that still older Assyrian Lord, Adonis, and that where the infant Jesus had wept, the lover of Venus was bewailed. Though he does not expressly say so, Jerome seems to have thought that the grove of Adonis had been planted by the heathen after the birth of Christ for the purpose of defiling the sacred spot. If Adonis was indeed, as I've argued, the spirit of the corn, a more suitable name for his dwelling-place could hardly be found than Bethlehem, 'the House of Bread,' and he may well have been worshipped there at his House of Bread long ages before the birth of Him who said, 'I am the bread of life.' Even on the hypothesis that Adonis followed rather than preceded Christ at Bethlehem, the choice of his sad figure to divert the allegiance of Christians from their Lord cannot but strike us as eminently appropriate when we remember the similarity of the rites which would commemorated the death and resurrection of the two.
The worship of Adonis even entailed the appearance of a Star in the East (Venus or Astarte) announcing the resurrection of the god:
One of the earliest seats of the worship of the new god was Antioch, and at Antioch, as we have seen, the death of the old god was annually celebrated with great solemnity. A circumstance which attended the entrance of Julian into the city at the time of the Adonis festival may perhaps throw some light on the date of its celebration. When the emperor drew near to the city he was received with public prayers as if he been a god, and he marveled at the voices of a great multitude who cried that the Star of Salvation had dawned upon them in the East. This may doubtless have been no more than a fulsome compliment paid by an obsequious Oriental crowd to the Roman emperor. But it is also possible that the rising of a bright star regularly gave the signal for the festival, and that as chance would have it the star emerged above the rim of the eastern horizon at the very moment of the emperor's approach. The coincidence, if it happened, could hardly fail to strike the imagination of a superstitious and excited multitude, who might thereupon hail the great man as the deity whose coming was announced by the sign in the heavens. Or the emperor may have mistaken for a greeting to himself the shouts which were addressed to the star. Now Astarte, the divine mistress of Adonis, was identified with the planet Venus, and her changes from a morning to an evening star were carefully noted by the Babylonian astronomers, who drew omens from her alternate appearance and disappearance. Hence we may conjecture that the festival of Adonis was regularly timed to coincide with the appearance of Venus as the Morning or Evening Star. But the star which the people of Antioch saluted at the festival was seen in the East; therefore, if it was indeed Venus, it can only have been the Morning Star. At Aphaca in Syria, where there was a famous temple of Astarte, the signal for the celebration of the rites was apparently given by the flashing of a meteor, which on a certain day fell like a star from the top of Mount Lebanon into the river Adonis. The meteor was thought to be Astarte herself, and its flight through the air might naturally be interpreted as the descent of the amorous goddess to the arms of her lover. At Antioch and elsewhere the appearance of the Morning Star on the day of the festival may in like manner have been hailed as the coming of the goddess of love to wake her dead leman from his earthy bed. If that were so, we may surmise that it was the Morning Star which guided the wise men of the East to Bethlehem, the hallowed spot which heard, in the language of Jerome, the weeping of the infant Christ and the lament for Adonis."

[The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion; Sir James George Frazer; I Vol. Abridged Edition; The Macmillan Company, 1951; pp. 402-403; ch. xxxiii.]

The spectacle of Palestinians and people of other faiths posturing as worshippers of Jesus Christ in the same celebrations with Christians is not reasurring, but presages the strong delusion which God has promised to send those who love not the truth.
Catch the Star
The Kickoff for Bethlehem 2000 is a "Catch the Star" media event on Christmas Eve, 1999:
A broad, varied, entertaining and informative programme of events is proposed over the 16 month period, stressing enduring religious as well as broad, universal human values. Some of the highlights will be:
  • Catch the Star, a 24 hour multi-media event broadcast live to the world from Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1999.
  • New Year’s world party, a world-class international music festival on the eve of the year 2000 with two thousand torches and a minute’s silence sending a message around the world.
  • The Passion, a closing celebration on Easter 2001...
  • Bethlehem is the true source of the Millennium. No other celebration can make this claim. The watchword, therefore, will be authenticity, and Bethlehem will capitalise on this unique quality in appealing to a broad international audience. The catch phrase will be Bethlehem, the Star of the Millennium.
    "Catch the Star" bears an uneasy resemblance to the Revival phrase "Catch the Fire".  It seems that those who have Caught the Fire are now being prepared to Catch the Star. But how does one "Catch the Star"? Alice Bailey and others who are privy to hidden mysteries have confirmed that the blazing star is commonly seen by initiates during a valid initiation.
    At all initiations the Lord of the World is present... His power streams forth and the flashing of the star before the initiate is the signal of His approval... (Initiation: Human & Solar, Lucis Pub., 1922, p. 107)
    Dr. Cathy Burns' Hidden Secrets of the Eastern Star references Masonic Prince Adept, Albert Pike's identification of the Star: "...the blazing star... represents [the] Star of Horus...Morning Star...Star of Set...Lucifer." (pp.52-53)

    Rosicrucian Grand Master, Max Heindels, identified December 24 and 25 as the most potent time of the astrological year and the ideal time for initiation rites:

    The night between the 24th and 25th of December is the holy night, par excellence, of the entire year. The zodiacal sign of the Immaculate Celestial Virgin stands upon the eastern horizon near midnight. The sun of the new year is then born and starts upon his journey from the southernmost point toward the northern hemisphere, to save that part of humanity (physically) from the darkness and famine which would inevitably result if he were to remain permanently south of the equator... The spiritual influences are strongest, in the north, at midnight of the 24th of December... It would then be easiest for those who wish to take a definite step toward initiation to get in conscious touch with the spiritual time... The blazing star is ever there to guide him." (Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception: Mystic Christianity, Rosicrucian Fellowship, 1988, p. 390.)
    [The Watch Unto Prayer report on the upcoming Cosmic Christmas explains in greater detail the occult symbolism that is intrinsic to rites of initiation and other aspects of the occult agenda planned for the bimillennial celebrations.]

    The Star of Bethlehem

    New Agers believe that May 5, 2000 was a "cosmic moment" similar in appearance to the Star of Bethlehem which announced the coming of the Messiah to the Magi. On this day, all of the planets will be in alignment, leading some to predict cataclysmic events on earth. A New Age web site, CalenderSign 2000, proclaims that at the turn of every age (two millennia), there are "revolutionary transformations accompanying the change of Ages...It is the twilight of the gods -- the Day of Judgment for the outgoing and incoming Ages."

    Closing out the present Age of Pisces, May 5, 2000 is expected to be a day of reckoning, decision and judgment. Since the various planets represent gods in the Gnostic traditions, New Agers believe that the gods will return to earth. A recent CalenderSign email counted 800 days until this ominous event:

    Date: Saturday, October 24, 1998 8:16 AM
    Subject: 800

    This Great Moment (Star Attraction) in May 2000 marks the end of the Christian Age of Pisces and the beginning of the Age of Aquarius based on the human calendar tradition. This is the day on which all of the gods of the heavens mentioned in the ancient mythical cult of heavens will meet again. It’s up to humankind whether these gods will remain in the heavens or whether they will venture back to earth. This will be the Last Day of the old age and Day of Judgment and First Day of the an new age and calendar, the birth of new myths, the understanding of the pervious ones and a further step on the humankind’s own journey to the stars.

    A previous email from CalenderSign explained the significance of May 5, 2000:
    Date: Thursday, October 29, 1998 3:20 PM
    Subject: 555

    Year 2000 is coming closer! We have 555 days to go until 5/5/2000! At this date all naked eye planets will be aligned. Earth, Moon, Sun, Mercer, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be in a straight line, like pearls on a string right across the universe. It will be a cosmic moment and arbitrary, like the Star of Bethlehem, that predicted the magis in 7 BC in constellation of Pisces at begin of age of ICHTHYS, who's time counts the Gregorian calendar. At Jesus' birth were Pisces the spring equinox constellation and therefore fish and ICHTHYS (Greek) became signs and synonyms of Christians, the "new agers" of this era. Earth axis has moved on and now at morning of spring equinox before sunrise announces already Aquarius the New Day of spring! New Age will start soon!

    Glancing at the scheduled Bethlehem 2000 Events Calendar, one discovers that May 5 is the feast of St. George. St. George also happens to be the Patron Saint of Knights, but that detail is omitted from the Bethlehem 2000 agenda ... so far. The Knights Templar were the Pope's emissaries to capture the Holy Land in the first crusade of 11the century. Two hundred years later, the Vatican would dissolve the Order of the Temple which, in revenge, would begin its own crusade to dissolve the Roman Church. The fable of St. George and the Dragon portrays in allegory the eventual demise of the Roman Catholic Church (which is the Dragon of Revelation 12 in occult lore) at the hands of St. George (symbol of the orders of knighthood). For a fuller treatment of the knighthood theme which is also permeating Christendom today, please see The Rosicrucian Connection .

    In December of 1997, a New Age radio program, the Laura Lee Show, featured an interview with New Age astrologer, Rick Levine, author of The Gift of the Magi: Christmas for a new Millennium. Levine discounted the significance of the astronomical phenomenon of May 5, 2000 as a harbinger of destruction, but elaborated at length on a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction expected later in the month of May 2000. According to Levine, it was a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction that produced the Star of Bethlehem, which is also called the King's Star or Star of David.

    Reportedly, Johann Kepler discovered that the Star of Bethlehem was the Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction. Johann Kepler (b. 1571) was a pioneer of astrology who held the theory that the sun moves around the earth and that all the other planets move around the sun [a compromise between the Ptolemaic (earth-centered) and Copernican (heliocentric) solar systems]. According to a Christian Hermeticism web site based on the Kabbalah, Kepler is said to be "the last deeply religious, occult and mystical scientist" before the scientific revolution which returned to the Copernican system.

    The Star of David

    Another New Age website explains that the Star of Bethlehem was a planetary configuration which formed a Star of David upon a Cross. It postulates that this heavenly sign, which involves the esoteric knowledge of sacred geometry, was only observed by the magi who were astrologers or high adepts in the mystery religion of Babylon:

    The Astroarchaeological Star of Bethlehem
    The Star (shield) of David or Seal of Solomon is revealed by applying the ancient astrological 'aspects' or geometric relationships which exist between the planets at any given time.
    This particular configuration occurs once in 40,000,000 years.
    The Shield of David is superimposed upon an additional ancient configuration called a 'Grand Cross' (the light coloured square) which offers additional support for presenting this grand celestial display as the star which informed the Magi of the birth of the Christ, a star which was invisible to all except the Magi.

    The Star is formed by the ancient 'astrological aspect lines' which connect the planets as they were assembled on March 2nd 5 B.C. An additionally astounding observation is that the Star of David or Seal of Solomon is formed by all of the planets known to us today. The actual length (time) of the entire celestial presentation was approximately 7.2 days.

    Astrologers are referred to in the Book of Daniel (Old Testament) as 'wise men'. It is prudent to conclude that the magi who were guided by 'a star' possessed the skills of astrologer / astronomers. In the days of the ancients, astrology and astronomy were a singular principle science and no king or ruler was without the counsel of the stars.

    (Side bar) Man was aware of our Sun-centered solar system since, at least, 2400 BC. Many of the dimensions of The Great Pyramid have a perfect relationship to many astronomical measurements which Western Man has, apparently, only re-discovered. Most of The Great Pyramid's astronomical dimensions relate to the Sun which, according to the ancient Egyptians, was a symbol of God. God, from the most ancient of times, has always been symbolized by a star. Our Sun is a star. Many passages in the New Testament, although very deeply veiled in metaphor, refer (also) to the Sun as it appears to transit through the ancient astrological signs.

    In ancient times astrology and astronomy were the same science. After the invention of the lens, the astrological model of the universe began to erode. Astrology with all of its transcendent mythology was pushed to the side by a new astronomy created by stargazers with technology. Ever since that time Western Man has been lost in space, disconnected from the Earth and without a creation myth.
    The information presented in this web site provides a view into the ancient past and touches upon the Ancient Wisdom which has been abandoned and forgotten by the conventional modern scientific method. An understanding of this material will lead you to 'the crack between the worlds', the place where physics distort into divine chaos. A place where science fears to tread......the dwelling place of God.
    By far more than just a twinkling, it was the entire solar system which announced the birth of Jesus Christ of the lineage of King David, and the change of the astrological age from Aries to Pisces.
    The celestial presentation evolved during a 7.2 day period. (Julian day 1719655.4167 to 1719663.4167). The entire phenomenon contains (in astrological symbolism); three 'mystic rectangles', a 'Star of David', a 'Seal of Solomon', a 'Grand Sextile', a 'Grand Cross' and two five pointed star configurations. The level of intelligence and beauty expressed in the symbols will touch all who inquire as to their profound meaning. The star presented here is the first actual archaeological proof of the biblical account of 'the Star'.

    The configuration contains, in symbolic language, the complete philosophies of the Life of Christ, Spirituality, Ancient Astrology, Metaphysics and Sacred Geometry. It expresses the 'perfect astrological model' which was intuited and passionately sought by Sir Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler.

    The three "mystic rectangles" - a "Star of David", a "Seal of Solomon" and "Grand Sextile" - superimposed upon one another form three sets of 6 (666). Dr. Cathy Burns' recent book, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, provides a chapter on The Hexagram, which explains the occult significance of this symbol. She included a most interesting reference to an Eastern Star source which states that the 'six-pointed star is a very potent ancient symbol, used in magic, witchcraft, occultism and the casting of zodiacal horoscopes INTERNATIONALLY AND BY ALL RACES.' This would explain its appeal to Yasser Arafat and the "people of all faiths," whose pilgrimage to Bethlehem may well be rewarded by a celestial sign of the Star of David superimposed on a Cross.

    It is noteworthy that the symbol of the Theosophical Society is also the Cross within a Hexagram, as displayed and explained on a branch of the UK Theosophical Society:

    TS is careful to note: "The symbol of the interlaced triangles is known in the Hebrew religion as the Seal of Solomon or the Star of David."

    Dr. Burns mentions that the Crest of Solomon or Star of David also appears on the Talisman of Saturn. (The Biblical reference to this symbol will be the subject of Part 3 of this series.) I quote here, with Dr. Burns' permission, the full text of her chapter on The Hexagram, which explains its meaning and use in practical occultism:

    Masonic & Occult Symbols Illustrated: The Hexagram, pp. 38-41
    The Hexagram is formed by uniting the Water Triangle with the Fire Triangle, which is called the Six-pointed Star, Star of David, Solomon's Seal, etc.
    When the two triangles (the "Water Triangle" and the "Fire Triangle") are jointed together into one symbol, it forms a six pointed star known as a double triangle, hexagram, Crest of Solomon, star of the microcosm and the Shield of David, among other names. It is even called the 'talisman of Saturn.' (1) Mary Ann Slipper remarks: 'This six pointed star is used in masonic work and is also found in other well know secret orders. (2) THE SECOND MILE, an Eastern Star book, reveals that the 'six-pointed star is a very ancient symbol, and one of the most powerful.' (3) It sure is a powerful symbol - to witches, sorcerers, and magicians! (4) 'The hexagram is used in magic, witchcraft, occultism and the casting of zodiacal horoscopes internationally and by all races.' (5) 'It was considered to possess mysterious powers.' (6) says A CONCISE CYCLOPAEDIA OF FREEMASONRY.
    "It is used as a 'stand-by for MAGICIANS AND ALCHEMISTS. The SORCERERS believed it represented the FOOTPRINT of a special kind of demon called a trud and used it in ceremonies both to CALL UP DEMONS and to keep them away." (7)

    Former Satanist, Bill Schnoebelen, reminds us: "To the sorcerer, the hexagram is a powerful tool to invoke Satan..." (8) A HEXAGRAM MUST BE PRESENT TO CALL A DEMON FORTH. In fact, the word "HEX" comes from this emblem. (9)

    Another meaning associated with the hexagram has to do with sexual union and reproduction. The triangle pointing downward "is a female symbol corresponding to the yoni" (10) and the "upward-pointing triangle is the male, the lingam..." (11) when the two triangles are interlaced, "it represents the union of the active and passive forces in nature; it represents the male and female elements." (12)

    In THE GODS OF INDIA, we find:

    "The two complementary principles, the linga and the yoni, are graphically represented by the fiery triangle with upward apex and the watery triangle with downward apex. When the triangles penetrate one another to form the hexagon, this it taken to show the state of manifestation. When they part, the universe dissolves." (13)

    The linga (or lingam) and the yoni are the male and female sexual parts. A former witch reveals: "Whe the male triangle penetrates the female triangle it produces the six pointed crest of Solomon or hexagram, the most wicked symbol in witchcraft." (14) The hexagram was also used for communication with the dead as E.A. Wallis Budge states: "Those who believed in the physical significance of the Hexagram taught that communication between the living and the dead was possible, and adopted the dogma of reincarnation." (15)

    A book entitled WITCHCRAFT, MAGIC AND ALCHEMY, links the hexagram to spiritualism. (16)

    The Hexagram was also the sign used in the Royal Arch (in Masonry) and "with the Hindoos (sic) of Trimurti the Trinity in Unity, or Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one." (17) J.S.M. Ward adds:

    "The [hexagram] with or without the circle, is strictly the sign of Trimurti, the Three in One, typifying the creative, preservative and destructive natures of the Deity. When Trimurti is depicted, which is seldom, it is as a three-headed man; one head is bearded, as with European mediaeval pictures of God the Father, while the heads which represent Vishnu and Shiva are devoid of a beard." (18)

    Interestingly, this hexagram:

    "...certainly has three sixes. It contains a six, within a six, within a six: 666. (Count the sides of each triangle facing the clockwise direction, the sides facing the counterclockwise direction, and the third six -- the sides of the inner hexagon."

    There is still another meaning of the hexagram. One Masonic author states:

    "In one instance we have the interlaced triangles, one black, the other white, the white triangle has its point up; the black triangle points down... The interlaced black and white triangles represent the forces of darkness and light, error and truth, ignorance and wisdom and good and evil; when properly placed they represent balance and harmony." (20)

    Another Masonic pamphlet affirms that these triangles that make up the hexagram "are symbolic of good and evil, day and night, the Chinese YANG AND YIN, etc." (21) We've already covered the yin/yang symbol, so we can see that the hexagram is not a good symbol and does not have a favorable connotation. It is used to call up demons, communicate with the dead, describe sexual acts, and represent false and pagan gods (such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva).

    MASONIC AND OCCULT SYMBOLS ILLUSTRATED may be ordered from:
    Sharing, 212 E. Seventh St. (Y), Mt. Carmel, PA 17851-2211 ($21.95 + 10% postage)


    The Six-Pointed Star: The Mark of the Beast

    Footnotes on The Hexagram:

    1. O.J. Graham, THE SIX POINTED STAR (New Puritan Library, 1988, Second Edition), p. 32, 34; See also: William O. Peterson, Editor, Masonic Quiz Book: "Ask me Another, Brother" (Chicago, Ill., Charles T. Powner, 1950), p. 277.
    2. Mary Ann Slipper, SYMBOLISM OF THE EASTERN STAR (n.p., 1927), p. 14; See also: Shirley Plessner, SYMBOLISM OF THE EASTERN STAR (Cleveland, Ohio: Gilbert Pub. Co., 21956), p. 125.
    3. Sarah H. Terry, THE SECOND MILE (Corpus Christi, Texas: Christian Triumph Press, 1935), p. 70.
    4. Graham, op.cit., p. 4, 11; Stewart Farrar, WHAT WITCHES DO: THE MODERN
    COVEN REVEALED (Custer, Washington: Phoenix Publishing Co., 1983, Revised Ed.), p. 35.
    5. Ibid.
    6. E.L. Hawkins, A CONCISE CYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY (EC: A. Lewis,
    1908), p. 124-125.
    7. Gary Jennings, BLACK MAGIC, WHITE MAGIC (Eau Claire, Wisc: The Dial Press, Inc., 1964), p. 51.: See also: Harry E. Wedeck, TREASURY OF WITCHCRAFT (New York, New York: Philosophical Library, 1961), p. 135.
    8. SAINTS ALIVE IN JESUS Newsletter (March 1992), p. 4.
    9. Jack T. Chick, SPELLBOUND, (Chino, California: Chick Publications, 1978), p. 7.; See also: Eric Barger, FROM ROCK TO ROCK: THE MUSIC OF DARKNESS EXPOSED! (Lafayette, LA: Huntington House, Inc., 1990), p. 165; Texe Marrs, MYSTERY MARK OF THE NEW AGE: SATAN'S DESIGN FOR WORLD DOMINATION (Westchester, Ill: Crossway Books, 1988); David Carrico, THE OCCULT MEANING OF THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES (Evansville, IN: Followers of Jesus Christ, 1991), p. 25; Irene Arrington Park, MODERNIZED PAGANISM (Tampa, FL: Christ's Deliverance Ministries, 1983), p. 8.
    10. Heinrich Zimmer with Joseph Campbell as Editor, MYTHS & SYMBOLS IN INDIAN ART & CIVILIZATION (NY: Harper & Row, 1962), p. 147; See also: Alain Danielou, THE GODS OF INDIA (NY: NY: Inner Traditions International, Ltd., 1985), p. 352; Jeff Godwin, DANCING WITH DEMONS: THE MUSIC'S REAL MASTER (Chino, CA: Chick Publications, 1988), p. 312; Albert G. Mackey, THE SYMBOLISM OF FREEMASONRY (NY: Clark and Maynard, 1869), p. 195.
    11. Ibid.; See also: Alain Danielou, THE GODS OF INDIA (NY,NY: Inner Traditions International, Ltd., 1985), p. 352; Jeff Godwin, DANCING WITH DEMONS: THE MUSIC'S REAL MASTER (Chino, CA: Chick Publications, 1988), p. 312; Mackey, THE SYMBOLISM OF FREEMASONRY, op. cit., p. 195.
    12. Wes Cook, Editor, DID YOU KNOW? VIGNETTES IN MASONRY FROM THE ROYAL ARCH MASON MAGAZINE (Missouri Lodge of Research, 1965), p. 132; See also: Texe Marrs, MYSTERY MARK OF THE NEW AGE: SATAN'S DESIGN FOR WORLD DOMINATION (WESTCHESTER, ILL: CROSSWAY BOOKS, 1988), P. 118; Graham, op. cit., p. 31,32; Thomas Albert Stafford, CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM IN THE EVANGELICAL CHURCHES (Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1942), p. 50; Albert Pike, MORALS & DOGMA OF THE ANCIENT & ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY (Richmond, Va: L.H. Jenkins, Inc., 1871), p. 13, Albert G. Mackey, THE SYMBOLISM OF FREEMASONRY (NY: Clark & Maynard, 1869), p. 195, 219, 361.
    13. Alain Danielou, THE GODS OF INDIA (NY,NY: Inner Traditions International Ltd., 1985), p. 219.
    14. Jeff Godwin quoting David J. Meyer, DANCING WITH DEMONS: THE MUSIC'S
    REAL MASTER (Chino, CA: Chick Publications, 1988), p. 278-289. 15. E.A. Wallis Budge, AMULETS & SUPERSTITIONS (NY,NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1978), p. 432.
    16. Eric Barger, FROM ROCK TO ROCK: THE MUSIC OF DARKNESS EXPOSED!
    (Lafayette, LA: Huntington House, Inc., 1990), p. 166.
    17. J.S.M. Ward, FREEMASONRY & THE ANCIENT GODS (London, England: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd., 1921), p. 10.
    18. Ibid., p. 12.
    19. Graham, op. cit., p. 91; See also: Godwin, op. cit., p. 279; SAINTS ALIVE IN JESUS NEWSLETTER (March 1992), p. 4.
    20. Wes Cook, Editor, DID YOU KNOW? VIGNETTES IN MASONRY FROM THE ROYAL ARCH MASON MAGAZINE (Missouri Lodge of Research, 1965), p. 132.
    21. "The Significant Numbers," SHORT TALK BULLETIN (September 1956; Vol. 34; No. 9), p. 5; See also: Cook, op.cit., p. 34.