Biblical Astronomy of the Invisible Lunar Eclipse and Jupiter-Venus Conjunction in Virgo; August 2016

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August of 2016 provides some meaningful celestial activity that we should observe with detail leading up to the notable Jupiter-Venus union in Virgo; 8-27-2016. The first week this month starting Aug. 1st, there is a planetary alignment in Leo just after sunset, with Jupiter, Mercury, Regulus, and Venus forming a diagonal line in the west, as pictured below from Sky at a Glance, for July 29 – August 6 – Sky & Telescope.

Figure 1. Heavenly Signs in Leo during the first week of August 2016. 1

The Moon, Jupiter, Mercury, Regulus and Venus, Aug. 3-5, 2016

Regulus passes under Venus — while the waxing crescent Moon emerges in the evening twilight near Mercury and then Jupiter.

This is followed on Thursday, August 4-5 with a Venus-Regulus conjunction, shortly after sunset. Regulus is no more than 1° from brighter Venus, to Venus’s lower left (in North America), as shown above. Here we see the Bright and Morning Star united with the King star on the ecliptic in Leo. This was preceded by a Mercury-Regulus union in Leo on July 30 which we can see in Figure 2 below from EarthSky. Both Venus and Mercury are united with the bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion, but Mercury’s union forms 2016’s closest conjunction of a planet and bright star. The crescent Moon also poses with both Mercury and Jupiter this week low in the western twilight, with Regulus below Venus on Friday. This combination of planetary alignment and conjunction to open the month of August commands our attention, due to its similarity with the planetary alignment in October 2015, except Mercury was substituted for Mars, last year. There were also consecutive conjunctions and alignments on August 5th and 6th in 2015, including a Venus-Mercury conjunction in Leo on Aug. 5th, followed by a planetary alignment of Jupiter, Mercury and Regulus in Leo on Aug. 6th, 2015. If this were not enough, there was also a Mercury-Regulus conjunction the next day on Aug. 7th 2015! These Jupiter-Venus signs support and corroborate the themes of the Mercury-Venus conjunctions we see leading to the potential Return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This notable parade of heavenly signs depicts some heavy celestial traffic leading up to and pointing toward the Rev. 12 signs of 2017!

Figure 2. Mercury-Regulus Conjunction in Leo July 30th, 2016. 2

For a big sky watching challenge, try finding the planet Mercury in conjunction with the star Regulus on July 30, 2016. Mercury and Regulus will be in between the dazzling planets Venus and Jupiter, the third and fourth brightest celestial bodies, respectively, after the sun and moon. Read more.

Kicking off these August signs in Leo is the July 30th Mercury-Regulus conjunction seen above. The 2016 planetary alignment in Leo bracketed by these two Regulus conjunctions provides added emphasis on the coming replay of the birth signs of Jesus Christ from 3-2 BC. Mercury-Gabriel announces this alignment of planets in August, marked also with the Venus-Regulus union wrapping up the first week. The heavenly birth signs for Christ are set to rewind in 2017, with a prominent role for Jupiter, the King Planet and Royal Sceptre of the King of Kings.

It is interesting that; Biblically “a Sceptre can also be symbolic of a person.” In (Numbers 24:17), we read;

 ”I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Seth.”

That Sceptre embodied the prophesied return of the Promised Seed, who came first over 1,900 years ago and by his sacrifice, provided redemption for all mankind. All who believe in Him, and follow Him, have a pathway back to God, Who alone is able to deliver them. Our website study on the General Sign of the Celestial Prelude covers the significance of this Numbers 24 record regarding the Sceptre, in the context of the heavenly signs surrounding the birth of Christ.

On August 15, 2016 Mercury is between Venus and Jupiter, which are 12 degrees apart, forming a triangle in Leo, as seen below in Figure 3.

Figure 3. August 2016 Jupiter-Mercury-Venus triangular union in Leo. 3

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There was also a 1 degree Triangular massing of Jupiter-Venus, Mars in Leo on October 28th, 2015, which is preceded earlier in the month with a planetary alignment with Regulus in Leo, [see Figure 4 below]. This is significant due to the resemblance again of the Rev. 12 heavenly sign, where the WomanVirgo is crowned with 12 stars, consisting of the 9 fixed stars in Leo, combined with the planets Jupiter, Venus and Mars, forming the Crown of 12 stars over Virgo’s head. This alignment set the stage for the Feast of Tabernacles week, marked by the Super Blood Moon on Sept. 28th. A very similar planetary alignment will be seen again in Sept. of 2017, involving the same players except Mercury will replace Jupiter in Leo, while Jupiter is birthed in Virgo. These heavenly signs of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad depicted key celestial foreshadowing 2 years before the 2017 birthing of Jupiter in Virgo. In fact, these celestial alignments and conjunctions which were so prominently associated with the Blood Moon Tetrad starting in 2014, have nearly been repeated with the Solar and Lunar eclipses on Hebrew feast and Holy days in 2016, linking the heavenly signs of the last three years on the Hebrew Calendar together leading to 2017.


Figure 4. Planetary Alignment in Leo, October 3rd, 2015

 

As there were 3 Jupiter-Venus Conjunctions marking the Rev. 12 birth signs of Christ in 3-2 BC, so this triple alignment of Jupiter-Mars, & Venus in Leo with Regulus, reflects a similar spiritual light in the context of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014–2015. In fact the Rev. 12 heavenly sign: the [Sun clothing Virgo with the Crescent Moon at her feet] on September 17th, 2015 was announced by Mercury-Gabriel located just outside the womb area of Virgo, united with Spica/Al Zimach, on this day, two years ahead of the rewind of the Great Wonder in Heaven, on Sept. 23rd 2017! The additional heavenly signs involving Jupiter-Venus in the next 2 years, leading up to the birthing of Jupiter in retrograde motion in Virgo’s womb, establish this rewind of heavenly signs in 2017. Mercury and Venus are close all of August 2016 and eventually Venus conjuncts Mercury as the latter slows to its stationary position in the sky before going into a 3 week retrograde motion, from our earth-bound viewpoint. This alignment occurs on the exact day that both planets conjunct Jupiter to within one degree on Aug. 30th, ‘16. It further coincides with the day Mercury starts its stationary, a notable day in Mercury’s retrograde event.

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The following dates, show with the Regulus unions in Leo, the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Virgo in 2016-2017:

July 30th, 2016 Mercury-Regulus Conjunction
Aug. 5th, 2016 Venus-Regulus Conjunction
Aug. 26-27th, 2016 Jupiter-Venus conjunction [Jupiter enters Virgo]
Feb. 26th, 2017 Jupiter-Venus conjunction
Sept. 23rd, 2017 [Virgo clothed 
with the Sun/Moon @ feet]-Rev. 12:1-2 
Nov. 13th, 2017 Jupiter-Venus conjunction

The two brightest planets –Venus and Jupiter –teamed up to provide the closest planetary conjunction of 2014, which has been the closest Venus- Jupiter conjunction during the six Lunar Eclipses of 2014-2016, until August 27, 2016, when Jupiter enters Virgo to be eventually “birthed” in 2017. This Venus-Jupiter union on August 27, will see these two planets three times closer than during their 2015 union when they were separated by only 1/3 of a degree.

This comparison of celestial alignments within the Lunar Eclipse Sextet from 2014-2016 in the current JubileYear of 5776 may signal a window for the Savior to return FOR his Saints bracketing the 1st appearance and return of the King of Kings at the right hand of God.

As we saw the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 2015 mirror the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 3-2 BC during the birth of Christ, we find Venus also united with Regulus and Mercury in 2016. Here the Arch-angel Gabriel announces the arrival of Regulus, the King star and brightest star in Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, [Rev. 5:5].

jupiter-venus

Jupiter-Venus Conjunction

These signs marking the birth and end-time replay of the Rev. 12 heavenly signs are punctuated by what appeared as an invisible lunar eclipse during Full Moon on August 18th. Intriguingly the context for this invisible eclipse in Aquarius provides a key link to the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 with the added lunar eclipses on the Hebrew Holidays of Passover, March 23th 2016, and the Sukkot Lunar eclipse coming next month on Sept. 16th, 2016.

Full Moon in Aquarius with Lunar Eclipse: The Finger of God

The sky of the full Moon in Aquarius on Aug. 18th presents an interesting configuration because on the same day the Moon glides across the edge of the penumbral shadow line, but staying out of the shadow. This is as close to an eclipse as you can get, without registering a true eclipse. With this INVISIBLE ECLIPSE a slight drop in the Moon’s brightness was detectable with professional equipment, but remained invisible to the naked eye. This eclipse grazed the northern edge of the Earth’s penumbral shadow, marking the end of the Saros series 109. The invisible Lunar Eclipse, also fomed what is known as a Yod configuration,” in Aquarius. This celestial Yod is seen with the Moon in Aquarius, and Mercury with Jupiter in Virgo, forming a long triangle, pointing to Mercury and Jupiter.

The Yod being the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is a key character, as the 1st letter of the Name of God (Yah-vey). It looks like a simple dot, like the better known “jot and tittle” but it means that the finite world can contain the infinite world. It is the primordial life of the Universe and the “Finger” or “Hand of God,” synonymous with the infallible evidence of Divine authorship visible in all His worksThe energy that it carries reveals the infinite capacity and Will of God to support the all creation and also our capacity to align our thoughts to the Word of God and receive insights and guidance for our spiritual growth. This invisible eclipse in the context of these heavenly signs marking the Return of Christ, reflects Jesus returning from God’s Right Hand at a specific time which is generally unknown to mankind, to Gather his Saints. With this invisible eclipse taking place in Aquarius, it represents the outpouring of the holy spirit on mankind, which is activated at the highest level when the Saints are clothed with their new spiritual bodies at this Gathering. A deeper understanding of these mysteries of God based on the fundamental truths of Scripture, enlightens our path in the Light from God above, to guide us in our daily lives, in this case to prepare us for the Lord’s long awaited return.

Image result for Moses Ascent on Mt Sinai 10 commandments

Deuteronomy 9:10 (KJV)

10 And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

The Yod as symbolic of the index finger, when God pointed His Finger, giving us the Written Word of God for the first time on Mount Sinai with Moses, on the Day of Assembly. The finger or right hand of God is a figure of speech called “condescencio” or personification in English, where human traits are ascribed to the Creator, as He ministers to mankind. The Eternal Spirit, the Almighty has no form [Rom. 1:19-23] of any male or female, man, four-footed beast or bird, and certainly the magnanimous intensity of the Almighty will soon vaporize any form of matter, as none can contain Him.

As these heavenly signs of August 2016 lead us into September, we find an annular solar eclipse marking the start of the Feast of Trumpets on Sept. 1st in Israel. In this series of solar and lunar eclipses since 2014, every solar eclipse falls on either the last day of the month, or the first day of the new month (Rosh Chodesh). Nisan 1 begins the ecclesiastical year, while Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) starts the civil year. The 1st of Elul to the 10th of Tishri is Teshuvah, when Moses returned to Mt. Sinai a second forty days. Thus it is a perfect follow-up to Moses first ascent of Mt. Sinai when God pointed His Finger, and gave us the Written Word.

As the Church of the spiritual body of Christ prepares to ascend the Mount of God in the Heaven of Heavens, let us ensure that our hearts are right to kneel before the Heavenly Father in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Footnotes

1. Sky at a Glance, for July 29 – August 6Sky & Telescope
2. Mercury-Regulus Conjunction in Leo July 30th, 2016–EarthSky
3. 2016, August 27: Venus-Jupiter Conjunction | When the Curves Line Up
4. General Sign of the Celestial Prelude
5. birthing of Jupiter in Virgo
6. triple conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 2015
7. Deut. 9:10 KJV

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Published by

Rene Fretz

My first interest in Biblical Astronomy was sparked during the study of the celestial signs surrounding the Birth of Christ in the late 70's and early 80's. This grew into a greater interest in Astronomy, resulting in numerous studies, clubs and activities as an amateur astronomer. Starting around 2003 I began working on the Try-God website, as a venue to publish my various articles and studies in Biblical Astronomy, which in the last 10 years, has garnered interest from an audience around the globe. With renewed effort and energy, we are expanding on our initial efforts with the website, for a more effective outreach to our growing audience.