THE PISCEAN AVATAR: THE JESUS OF ASTROLOGY

By Marcia Montenegro, former professional astrologer (page 5 of 6)

Jesus as man

Jesus, although fully God, was also fully man. He was not a spirit who merely materialized or an advanced being who temporarily took on flesh. He ate many times with others, such as when he went through the grainfields with his disciples, eating the heads of grain (Matthew 12:1); and after the resurrection, he had fish and bread with his disciples on the beach, as recorded in John. 21:12-15a. The Pharisees chided Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners in Matthew 9:11. He experienced hunger (Luke 4:2), and felt grief, distress (Matthew 26:37) and agony (Luke 22:44).

Was Jesus an esoteric teacher?

Jesus never taught that we are God, have an inner divinity, or can develop Christ Consciousness. He was clear that if we believed in him, we would have eternal life (John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 8:24). This is the core theme of both the Old and New Testaments, such as Isaiah 45:21 where God is called Savior, and Isaiah 9:6,7 and chapter 53 which predict the birth, suffering for sins, and everlasting kingdom of Jesus.

The theme of man's sin in the sight of a righteous God, starting in Genesis 3 and continuing to Revelation, shows man's need for deliverance from this sin (Genesis 3:15; 2 Samuel 2:22; Isaiah 1:16; Jeremiah 4:14; Daniel 6:27; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 1:10) through faith in Christ and not by works (Acts 13:17-39, 17:30, 31; Romans 5:8-10, 8:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:16-19; Galations 2:16, 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 9:14).

The Piscean Jesus is a mere example, not a Savior. One must be cleansed through one's own efforts; spiritual advancement depends on one's own understanding and actions. But since man is limited in understanding and has always shown the evidence of failings and wrong-doing, man's efforts are like trying to clean a plate with a dirty rag; the plate gets dirtier and the rag wears out.

In explaining gnosis, a knowledge which leads to "higher realities" and to experiencing "ordinary reality" more deeply, the editors of Gnosis magazine describe this as esoteric, coming from the Greek esotero, meaning "further in;" thus, "we have to go 'further in,' into ourselves to catch a glimpse of what gnosis is."54 They contrast esoteric spirituality with "exoteric" spirituality, which is a more "outward" form of belief. Exoteric spirituality has to do with salvation while esoteric teachings focus on "transcendence," on experiencing God versus wanting to be with him in the afterlife.55 The gnostic journey is a subjective, inner one with no boundaries and only one's own experience as the ultimate guide.

Astrology is an esoteric teaching because it claims an inner wisdom: 1) chart interpretation is based on a knowledge of the inner meanings of the planets, signs, symbols, and houses of the chart, and 2) astrology claims to reveal through its mystical symbolism the inner self of the person, as shown by the influence of Jung's ideas on contemporary astrology. Additionally, the Christ Consciousness view of Jesus presents an esoteric Christ because it is claimed that he is innately within all men. As shown previously by the cited New Age and astrological sources, this Jesus is not accessed through faith, but rather by going within one's own self and realizing one has or can have the Christ nature. This is done through special techniques and/or learning increasingly complex spiritual "laws." But mystical experiences of transcendence do not last, nor do they erase the human condition of sin.

The Piscean Jesus is only one of many who can attain the Christ nature; Jesus and the Christ are considered to be separate. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus is the unique Son of God and Savior, is the only means of salvation (John 3:15; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:7), and is the Lamb of God "who takes away the sin of the world," (John 1:29, 36). John the Baptist, who was conceived before Jesus (Luke 1:36, 41), told the crowds that Jesus "existed before me," (John 1:30). The Christ, a term for 'anointed one,' is the Messiah, and there is only one promised Messiah, Jesus (John 4:25, 26).

However, Christ does not fit the esoteric pattern. When being questioned by the high priest after his arrest, Jesus said to him, "I have spoken openly to the world: I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret," (John 18:20).

Although Jesus spoke in parables, this was to fulfill Old Testament prophecy that those rejecting God would not understand (Isaiah 6:9-11). Jesus quotes this in Luke 8:10 before he goes on to explain the parable of the sower to his disciples. Parables are not puzzles, but stories illustrating a particular teaching. In some cases, those listening understood the parable all too well, as in the case of the scribes and chief priests who recognized themselves in a parable about the vine-growers killing the vineyard owner's son (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19). After hearing this parable, these religious leaders were angry and wanted to seize Jesus (Matthew 21:46; Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19).

As explained by Jesus, his second coming is not a "reception of Christ Consciousness" or reaching a higher level of spirituality, but a physical coming that will be visible (Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24). After Jesus ascended to God the Father following his bodily resurrection, two angels told the disciples that Jesus "will come in just the same way you have watched Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:11).

Conclusions

The Piscean Avatar is an advanced spiritual teacher overlaid with astrological interpretations of Pisces and New Age mysticism. Correlations between Piscean qualities and Jesus, while touching on some of his characteristics, do not address Jesus' central mission, teachings, or identity as the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior who pays for our sin with his shed blood on the cross.

The New Age Christ Consciousness is based on one's inner divinity attained through one's own efforts, in contrast to the salvation we are given as a gift through faith in the Biblical Jesus, and the spiritual and physical redemption we have through his resurrection and victory over death (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). As humans with a fallen nature, we cannot be God. This salvation offered in Christ is God's grace, a gift that we cannot work for, be good enough for, or earn in any way (Romans 3: 27-28; Ephesians 2:8, 9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). As Jesus says in John 4:10 to the woman at the well, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

Within the cyclical world of astrology, humanity passes through the twelve zodiac signs over and over; in reincarnation, the soul is passed through many bodies over centuries of time. In such a world, the fire of hope is repeatedly lit by humanity's futile efforts to deliver itself from its own evil, only to flicker out again and again in the darkness of man's inability to reach that goal.

How much more hope there is in the Jesus of the Bible, who conquered death and sin (Romans 5:14-19), who delivers man from the "domain of darkness" and transfers him to the "kingdom of light" (Colossians 1:13), who is the light of the world (John 8:12), and through whom we have, by faith, forgiveness of sins, the gift of eternal life and adoption as children into the kingdom of God (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians1:5; Colossians 1:14)!

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst," John 6:35

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