In the Acts of the Apostles is a passage that, quoting the Book of the Prophets, says, “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? Not at all! You took along the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images you had made for your cult.”

The allusion to the star of a god brings to mind astrology, especially in this sentence that also mentions Moloch — a pagan god of human sacrifice, specifically children (often these days tied to abortion).

Rephan (also spelled Remphan) is assumed by some scholars to be the same as “Kiyyun,” in the Book of Amos (5:26), and perhaps another name for the pagan god Saturn.

Others argue that Kiyyun and the Star of Remphan should be held as separate entities, the first a reference to the deity Heracles, and the latter a reference to a painted mark on the forehead of Moloch.

Notes a Bible site: “Perhaps, as some scholars suggest, Rephan wasn’t Coptic of even Greek, but rather Hebrew, a name like Belial… used to censure out references to something ugly. Rephan could then be taken from רפה (rapa), meaning to sink down or let drop, and would thus mean Fallen One.”

In the end, no one knows: We’re left with no real idea who or what “Rephan” represents. We only know that it had a link to occultism — “made for your cult” — and that the Book of the Prophets says, “For that I will exile you beyond Babylon.”

“The martyrdom of Stephen episode in the Book of Acts seems to indicate the star of Rephaim is the symbol of babylonic/cabalistic jewry-the six sided star of Solomon,” says a contributor to Quora.

“At any rate Moloch, Chiun and Remphan are all names for the star god, Saturn, whose symbol is a six pointed star formed by two triangles. The Six-Pointed Star is engraved on the Talisman of Saturn, which is used in ritual magic TALISMAN OF SATURN.

“Saturn has also been associated with Satan and this, for numerous reasons. First, many authors argue that the word Satan is derived from the word Saturn. Second, Saturn is associated with the color black as well as Satan. Third, Ancients considered Saturn to be the farthest planet from the sun.”

[resources: Michael Brown online retreat, 10/29]