Saturday, December 31, 2011

21st Century: New Age of Aquarius or End of World?



by steven masone

Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, 
   what has been done will be done again; 
   there is nothing new under the Sun.


Ironically and very interesting that the 60's rock musical "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR" with it's opening hit song "Age of Aquarius," joined new age thought and culture to christian theology where astrology and it's practice is taboo according to Deuteronomy 18:9-12
    9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
    10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
    11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
    12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.
    Isaiah 47:12-15 12 “ Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail. 13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you. 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before! 15 Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.
Of course interpreting omens refers to stargazing, astrological cosmic events and movement along with the seasons and other natural and supernatural phenomenon in the earth. 


Psalms 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.


2 Day after day they pour forth speech;


night after night they display knowledge.


3 There is no speech or language


where their voice is not heard.
 



So when we see these similarities of the "Age of Aquarius" and it's description line up with Christian eschatology concerning the end of this Church Age... merging into the Millennial reign of Christ, we have to ask ourselves, how can we harmonize these 'common ground' paralleled teachings to share our Gospel? 


The Apostle Paul teaches that all of God's creation is for all to see that he exists and all should seek him, but many fall short and worship the creation instead of the creator.




 Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
 19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
 20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
 26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
 28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
 29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
 31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.



And herein lies the crux of the problem and it's chasm of divide. The God of this universe has universal laws including morality standards that many rebel against, therefore choose an inanimate creation based belief system (humanism/animism) and stop short of investigating the biblical claims that God manifested himself in the flesh as Jesus Christ, to free us from a fallen condition that has us trapped to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, keeping us from true spiritual rebirth. 

The obvious axiom that renders mankind incapable of saving it'self through our own devices is the definition of insanity: " Doing the same thing over and over expecting different (improved) results."

Let's look at what the "Age of Aquarius" is defined as.
Image result for aquarius pouring waterAge of Aquarius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Age of Aquarius is either the current or new age in the cycle of astrological ages. Each astrological age, resulting from very slowprecessional movement of the Earth's rotation, is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods of calculating this length that may yield longer or shorter time spans depending upon the technique used. Unlike sun-sign astrology where the first sign isAries, followed by TaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornAquarius, and Pisces, whereupon the cycle returns to Aries and through the zodiacal signs again, the astrological ages proceed in the opposite direction or order – normally termedretrograde. Therefore, the Age of Aquarius follows the Age of Pisces. It has been said that we are currently shifting into the Aquarian Age.[1]


The approximate 2150 years for each age corresponds to the average time it takes for the Vernal Equinox to move from one constellation of the zodiac into the next. This can be computed by dividing the Earth's 25,800 year gyroscopic precession period by twelve, the number of Zodiac constellations used by astrologers. According to different astrologers' calculations, approximated dates for entering the Age of Aquarius range from 1447 AD (Terry MacKinnell) to 3597 (John Addey).
[2] The start date for the Aquarian age is somewhat contentious[3] and there is little uniform agreement upon the date or process leading from the previous Piscean age to the Aquarian age (or between any two ages). Nicholas Campion in The Book of World Horoscopes lists various references from mainly astrological sources for the start of the Age of Aquarius. Based on the research by Nicholas Campion most published material on the subject state that the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 20th century (29 claims), with the 24th century in second place with twelve claimants. Eight researchers claim the Aquarian age will arrive in the 25th century while the 21st, 26th and 27th centuries have seven supporters for each century. Other centuries that have a number of supporters for the beginning of the Aquarian age include: 22nd and 23rd centuries (6 each); 19th century (5); and the 18th century (4).[edit]
Overview

Astrological ages exist as a result of precession of the equinoxes. The slow wobble of the Earth's spin axis on the celestial sphere is independent of the diurnal rotation of the Earth on its own axis and the annual revolution of the Earth around the Sun. Traditionally this 25,800 year cycle is calibrated for the purposes of determining astrological ages by the location of the Sun in one of the twelve Zodiac constellations at the vernal equinox, which corresponds to the moment the Sun rises above the celestial equator, marking the start of spring in the Northern hemisphere each year. Roughly every 2,150 years the sun's position at the time of the vernal equinox will have moved into a new zodiacal constellation. However zodiacal constellations are not uniform in size, leading some astrologers to believe that the corresponding ages should also vary in duration. This however is a contentious issue amongst astrologers.
In 1929, the International Astronomical Union defined the edges of the 88 official constellations. The edge established between Pisces andAquarius technically locates the beginning of the Aquarian Age around the year 2600. Many astrologers dispute this approach because of the varying sizes of the zodiacal constellations and overlap between the zodiacal constellations.[4] 








David Williams

David Williams claims that the Age of Aquarius arrived about 1844, with the harbinger of the Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad (1819–1850), also known as the Báb, founder of Bábism. Williams adopts a sub-period approach to the ages whereby each age is divided into three decans. The three age-decans of the Aquarian Age in chronological order are LibraGemini and Aquarius. Williams states that the world is currently in the Libran decan of the Age of Aquarius which is why the world has been so affected by wars (due to Libra) and revolutions (due to Aquarius). He relates ideologies such as SocialismCommunism and Fascism to the arrival of the Age of Aquarius.
Though he acknowledges great progress since the Aquarian Age arrived about 1844, the world will have to wait for the Aquarian decan of the Aquarian Age before the true fellowship of humankind is experienced in the world.[7] (According to Williams's calculations, the Aquarian decan of the Age of Aquarius will arrive in about 3284, lasting until about 4004).

[edit]Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas

Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas promoted the view that, although no one knows when the Aquarian Age begins, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the discovery of electricity are all attributable to the Aquarian Age.[8] Moore and Douglas make a number of predictions about the trends that they believe will develop in the Aquarian Age. These include people becoming more impersonal (detached), yet more altruistic and humane. Developments involving flight and space travel will result in decentralization. Inner cities will shrink and burgeoning outer suburbs and industrial areas will reduce congestion.[9]

[edit]Vera Reid

Vera Reid takes a common position expressed by many astrologers and New Agers about the Age of Aquarius. Reid sees the Age of Aquarius as that time when humankind takes control of the Earth and its own destiny as its rightful heritage. As such, humankind will become the "Son of God" (Aquarius13). Reid believed that the keyword for Aquarius is 'enlightenment'. The destiny of humankind in the Age of Aquarius is the revelation of truth and the expansion of consciousness.[10]
Reid also believed that the many crises the world is experiencing are attributable to the waning days of the Age of Pisces meeting the incoming tide of Aquarius, with the transition between ages lasting approximately 280 years. Reid also promoted the idea that some people will experience mental enlightenment in advance of others and therefore be recognized as the new leaders in the world.[11]

[edit]Robert Zoller

Robert Zoller is a proponent of medieval astrology. Zoller’s predictions for the Age of Aquarius suggest that the Pisces world where religion is the opiate of the masses will be replaced in the Aquarian Age by a world ruled by secretive power-hungry elites seeking absolute power over others. Families will dissolve completely, or family ties will be hidden. Zoller also believes that knowledge in the Aquarian Age will only be valued for its ability to win wars; scientists may even be able to precipitate earthquakes for military means, and the danger in the Aquarian Age is that knowledge and science will be abused, not industry and trade. Zoller sees the Aquarian Age as a Dark Age wherein religion will be seen as offensive.[12]

[edit]Neil Spencer

Neil Spencer provides another sobering overview of the Age of Aquarius stating that the rise of scientific rationalism combined with the fall of religious influence is possibly an indication of the Age of Aquarius. The growth in demands of human rights since the 1780s, though remaining unfulfilled, is another indication of Aquarius. Spencer points to the exponential growth of technology, especially of computers and the Internet, plus the growth in flight and space travel as examples of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Spencer also questions the New Age utopian view of the Age of Aquarius with the modern astrological perspective that each sign is different but equal. Possible negative examples of Aquarius include dumbed-down media and consumerism and rapacious international corporations. Finally, Spencer states that nuclear power must be a manifestation of the Aquarian Age and comments on the parallel between the 25,000 years it takes for uranium to decay with the 26,000 cycle of the astrological ages.[13] No isotopes of uranium have a half-life of 25,000 years though, naturally occurring forms have half-lives of 4.46 billion years(U-238), 700 million years(U-235), and 245,000 years(U-234).

[edit]Louis MacNeice

Louis MacNeice reports that Rupert Gleadow saw the Age of Aquarius ruled by Uranus and thus in the Age of Aquarius the attributes of Uranus such as inventions, machines, worldwide organizations, international collaboration, and the fellowship of humankind would spread. MacNeice also states that Ingrid Lind believes the Age of Aquarius has already arrived and the recent appearance of modern ideas and inventions supports this assertion.[14]
MacNeice also reports that Gleadow believed that the recent conflicts in the world (presumably the 20th century) correlate to the conflict betwefffen Saturn, ancient ruler of Aquarius and Uranus, modern ruler of Aquarius. Gleadow states that Saturn represents control, restrictions, and slavery, while Uranus represents culture, civilization, and intelligence. Though Gleadow viewed Uranus as a good planet, the famous astrologer Raphael[15] believed Uranus to be evil and truly malefic.[16]

[edit]Ray Grasse

Ray Grasse provides a guide to the Aquarian Age analogous to a travel guide for someone entering a foreign land. Grasse suggests that if you want help navigating through the Aquarian Age, you should leave room for silence in your life; create a center in your life (preferably involving a connection to the Absolute); and resist the deadening of your world, so instead of filling up your life with manufactured goods or artificiality, bring living organic things into your life. Furthermore, you need to maintain a compassionate heart; be involved in a network or group; become more self-reliant; avoid being hypnotized by the "group trance"; and take control of your everyday attitudes (i.e., do not depend upon external events for your inner fulfillment). This last point is relevant, as Grasse states, "How do we know if the Age of Aquarius will be 'a utopia or an Orwellian nightmare?'".[17]

[edit]Yogi Bhajan

Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, known as Yogi Bhajan founder of 3HO and Master of Kundalini Yoga/Aquarian Humanology[18], taught that The Age of Aquarius began on November 11, 1991[19] and fully transitioned from Pisces on November 20, 2011.



Let's compare the end product hoped for by both 'camps' as we see they are almost identical. Christian differences see God himself as the one who brings us into a new age and not the cosmos or our vibrations in harmony with the physical universe. But rather by his Spirit we are freed from the constraints of it including death and corruption! 
              Aquarius pouring his water upon the earth is the counterfeit of what God did at Pentecost! 
Image result for aquarius pouring water



God's word originally spoke of this age in Joel 2:38And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:


The symbol of water is used for the Holy Spirit that would indwell those by his "pouring out" is juxtaposed to the sign of Aquarius performing the new age version.


Image result for pisces symbol
*Also note that the Age of Aquarius follows Pices which is the FISH and sign of Christianity along with the cross

We can also see by some of the above commentary of this new age, apocalyptic events are included in their cosmology as is in Bible prophetic fulfillment that has had exacting proofs validating it's authenticity.
Whether this convergence of duplicate cosmology is manifested through innocent or deceptive means of demonic origin is irrelevant... if we can use and find these goals as common ground with those who ar4e blinded by this deception. " Let us reason together." cannot work if their reason is past feeling and understanding. Or they have recieved "The strong delusion sent by God because they loved not the truth."

 1Corinthians 9:20
"And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under thelaw, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 
21To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gainthem that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I ammade all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel'ssake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. 



<< Isaiah 1 >>
Young's Literal 
Translation

1 The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he hath seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For Jehovah hath spoken: Sons I have nourished and brought up, And they -- they transgressed against Me.
3 An ox hath known its owner, And an ass the crib of its master, Israel hath not known, My people hath not understood.
4 Ah, sinning nation, a people heavy with iniquity, A seed of evil doers, sons -- corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward.
5 Wherefore are ye stricken any more? Ye do add apostasy! Every head is become diseased, and every heart is sick.
6 From the sole of the foot -- unto the head, There is no soundness in it, Wound, and bruise, and fresh smiting! They have not been closed nor bound, Nor have they softened with ointment.
7 Your land is a desolation, your cities burnt with fire, Your ground, before you strangers are consuming it, And a desolation as overthrown by strangers!
8 And left hath been the daughter of Zion, As a booth in a vineyard, As a lodge in a place of cucumbers -- as a city besieged.
9 Unless Jehovah of Hosts had left to us a remnant, Shortly -- as Sodom we had been, To Gomorrah we had been like!
10 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom, Give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah,
11 Why to Me the abundance of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah, I have been satiated with burnt-offerings of rams, And fat of fatlings; And blood of bullocks, and lambs, And he-goats I have not desired.
12 When ye come in to appear before Me, Who hath required this of your hand, To trample My courts?
13 Add not to bring in a vain present, Incense -- an abomination it is to Me, New moon, and sabbath, calling of convocation! Rendure not iniquity -- and a restraint!
14 Your new moons and your set seasons hath My soul hated, They have been upon me for a burden, I have been weary of bearing.
15 And in your spreading forth your hands, I hide mine eyes from you, Also when ye increase prayer, I do not hear, Your hands of blood have been full.
16 Wash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good.
17 Seek judgment, make happy the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, strive for the widow.
18 Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be!

To be continued.....

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