Biblical Astronomy of the 2019 Mercury Transit and the Jupiter-Venus Unions

Birth of Jesus Christ
Biblical Astronomy of the 2019 Mercury Transit and the Jupiter-Venus Unions

We are in for some celestial treats this month not only with an upcoming Mercury Transit to open next week, but this also includes a notable union of Jupiter and Venus starting this weekend. Our most recent Mercury Transit took place in May of 2016 that we noted in our April 30th blog at the time. Mercury transits take place about 13 times per century, and the next Mercury Transit will not occur for another 13 years. 1 Mercury and Venus are the only planets that transit, or move in front of the Sun from Earth’s view, because their orbits are the only ones in our Solar System between the Sun and Earth’s orbit. According to Norton’s Star Atlas: “Mercury’s orbit rarely leads to a direct alignment, taking place an average of twice every 10 years, and only during the months of November or May. “the November variety is more common, repeating at intervals of 7, 13 and 46 years. May transits recur at intervals of 13 and 46 years. 2

In an excerpt from our April 2016 blog we noted that;

As the sky signs of 2016 including the Lunar Eclipse Sextet of 2014-2016 and the May 9th, Mercury Transit set the stage for a replay of the birth signs of Jesus Christ from Rev.12 in September of 2017. We should keep in mind that the replay of these Rev. 12 birth signs of Christ in 2017 including Jupiter the King Planet and Royal Sceptre being birthed in Virgo on 9/9/17, after spending a “gestation period” in retrograde motion in Virgo’s mid-section. This is interesting when we consider the retrograde motion of Mercury leading to this, because in Sept. 2015 during the culmination of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we saw the [Sun clothing Virgo with the Moon at her feet] on Sept. 17th 2015, along with the Sept. 17th [Mercury-Spica triple union in Virgo]. This occurred 2 years prior to the Sept. 2017 replay of the birth signs of Christ which were followed by the Sept. 30th, 2017lowest point retrograde motion of Mercury in Virgo. On 10/29/15 Mercury was also birthed in Virgo after a gestation period of nearly six weeks. The following also shows the Mercury-Venus union series that resulted from Mercury’s retrograde in Virgo.

The Mercury-Venus Conjunctions of 2016-2017

1. May 13th, 2016 in Taurus relates to the April 28th, 2016 to May 22nd, 2016 Mercury Retrograde.

2. July 16th, 2016 in Leo

3. August 27th, 2016 in Leo takes place on the eve of the inception of Mercury moving into retrograde starting August 30th, 2016

4. March 16th, 2017

5. December 15th, 2017 relates to the retrograde motion of Mercury from Dec. 2nd 2017 to Dec. 22nd 2017.

Here we can see that these five Mercury-Venus Conjunctions, are bracketed by the first retrograde motion of Mercury in May of 2016 to the last retrograde motion ending on Dec. 22nd, 2017. These Mercury-Venus unions represent Mercury-Gabriel heralding the appearance of Venus the risen Bright and Morning Star, leading to replay of the Rev. 12 signs in the Fall of 2017. With the first of these Mercury-Venus Conjunctions in 2016 set in Taurus, the Morning Star is seen in the aspect of the Coming Judge returning quickly. This Mercury-Venus Conjunction is followed by two in Leo the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the last zodiac sign emphasizing the lion’s destruction of the serpent. This shows many ways in which Mercury as the Archangel Mercury-Gabriel is announcing the victorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ as seen in Rev. 19 below.

Figure 1. The Mercury Transit in May of 2016

2006 Mercury Transit

Rev. 19:1-5

19 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his [a]servants at her hand.

And a second time they [b]say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goes up[c]for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sits on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his [d]servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.

This awesome audible Voice from Heaven announces the Lord Jesus Christ returning WITH his Saints to destroy the beast, false prophet and those who will follow them at the battle of Armageddon. This opens the Age of Christ with the destruction of the Anti-Christ and his kingdom.

Rev. 19:11-18

11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon [g]called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. 13 And he is arrayed in a garment [h]sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure15 And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the [i]winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

17 And I saw [j]an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and
be 
gathered together unto the great supper of God; 18 that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of [k]captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.

Mercury Transits has been likened to verse 17 since the planet Mercury symbolizes the Messenger Archangel Gabriel. Mercury crossing the face of the Sun can be seen as this angel Gabriel “standing in the Sun” heralding the victorious return of the Light of the World and King of Kings, even as he announced the coming Promised Seed of Mary leading to his birth, [Lk. 1:26-38, Matt. 1:20-25]. This alignment osky signs including the Lunar Eclipse Sextet from 2014-2016 in the Jubilee Year of 5776 bookends the first Advent and return of the King of Kings at the right hand of God.

Another key aspect of the celestial signs of this month includes the Jupiter-Venus conjunction set for Nov. 24th, 2019. It is important to realize the celestial context of this union of Jupiter-Venus, to grasp the impact of what has occurred, not only at the birth of Christ in the signs of Rev. 12 in 3-2 BC, but also with the Celestial Sphinx signs leading to the 2017 rendition of these Rev. 12 signs.

In view of the current celestial showcase of heavenly signs surrounding to 9-23-17 replay of the Rev. 12 signs, there are matched sets of triple planetary conjunctions taking place. In past light of Jupiter’s role in the Celestial Prelude, the 2017 triple conjunction of Jupiter-Spica was heralded by two Mercury-Spica unions in 2015, within a 6-week period. The first conjunction occurred Sept. 17th, 2015, and the 2nd on October 29th, 2015Mercury-Gabriel, as messenger arch-angel gives two proclamations resulting from its retrograde motion, foreshadowing Jupiter’s 2017 retrograde motion in Virgo, forming a triple conjunction of Jupiter-Spica. This is part of the first set of planetary triple unions that held our focus in 2015Mercury-Gabriel established the triple union of Jupiter-Spica on Oct. 11th, 2016, that followed in a pre-dawn union with Jupiter, as Mercury passed within a degree of Jupiter in a Sunrise union. We could view this as Mercury establishing its announcement of the king planet Jupiter in the dawn’s early light, of the Mercury transit in May of 2016, five months later.

Remember that this takes place during the Jupiter-Venus conjunction series from 2015-2017, as part of the Celestial Sphinx signs in Virgo and Leo. This conjunction series includes 2 triple unions of Jupiter-Venus, one each in Leo then in Virgo, the head of the Woman united with the body of the Lion, as the two main components of the Great Sphinx, unifying the circle of the Hebrew zodiac in its alpha and omega signs. We find this manifested at the birth of Christ in a dazzling Jupiter-Venus conjunction in Leo on June 17th of 2 BC. It was also 2 Jupiter-Venus conjunctions that actually bracketed the majority of heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ in 3-1 BC.

A guiding principle of the study of the Celestial Sphinx dictates that we should be watchful of activity in the heavens related to both components of the Celestial SphinxFor instance, with Jupiter’s recent retrograde activity in Virgo, we also find important events in Leo around the king star Regulus-the heart of the Lion.

The 1st Jupiter-Venus Conjunction marking the birth of Christ took place on August 31st 3 BC, in Leo, with the last one occurring August 21st 1 BC, in Virgo. Here we find an interesting variation on a Celestial Sphinx sign directing us to the planetary unions of Jupiter-Venus, marking the initial fulfillment of the Rev12:1-2 prophecy relating to the sufferings of Christ in his ministry as the Passover Lamb. This alerts us that we should look for similar Celestial Sphinx signs as a precursor to the Lord’s Second Coming in glory.

Jupiter-Venus Conjunction

jupiter-venus

Keeping in mind the context of the triple conjunctions of Jupiter-Venus and the Celestial Sphinx signs, other triple planetary conjunctions related to the Celestial Sphinx will also arrest our attention. First, let’s document the recent activity of Jupiter and Venus related to the Celestial Sphinx. The following dates for signs of the Celestial Sphinx witnessed Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Leo in the Hebrew Jubilee year of 2015-2016:

June 30th, 2015
August 25th, 2015
October 26th, 2015

The following dates saw Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Virgo in 2016-17:

July 27th, 2016
Feb. 26th, 2017
Nov. 13th, 2017

However, before the final Jupiter-Venus union in VirgoJupiter started its 42-week retrograde motion in Virgo’s womb, during which time Jupiter completed another triple conjunction with Spica in Virgo! The precedent for this at the birth of Christ is seen in the coronation of God’s only begotten Son in the heavens with the triple conjunction of the King planet Jupiter with the King star Regulus in Leo in 3-2 BC, starting 3 days after Christ’s birth, based also on Jupiter’s retrograde motion. As we have seen regarding Jeremiah’s Messianic prophecy [Jer. 23:5], Jupiter the sedeq planet is linked with the MessiahJesus Christ the righteous zemach-branch, in one of 5 primary Old Testament prophecies regarding the Branch-Al Zemach, as Jesus Christ, the Coming Promised Seed.

This celestial activity surrounding the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC, including the impact of the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions has gotten recognition even from secular and scientific sources, which is great to see from astronomical authorities, not only like Dr. Earnest Martin but others, who have noted the presence of these Jupiter-Venus unions, but have still held back their opinions on the potential link to the birth of Christ. We can see this influence in the following quote from a recent Astronomy blog:

“Taken literally, the biblical account of the story of the Star of Bethlehem calls for not one, but two “stars.” One to be seen at the start of the Magi’s journey, while the other appearing to them upon their arrival in Bethlehem.

Interestingly, in August of 3 B.C., Venus and Jupiter were prominent in the predawn eastern sky, and on Aug. 12 they came within just 9 arc minutes (0.15 degrees) of each other as seen from the Middle East. Incidentally, this sign would have been seen by men “in the east,” explaining the phrase in the Book of Matthew.

Ten months later, Venus and Jupiter got together again for an even more spectacular encore on June 17, 2 B.C., when at sundown from Babylonia they were separated by just 4 arc minutes of each other, about 35 degrees above the western horizon. As the sky grew dark, the two brightest planets drew closer to each other until finally at 9:15 p.m. local time they drew to within 36 arc seconds (0.01 degree) equal to the mean apparent width of Jupiter as seen through a telescope, at an altitude of 15 degrees above the horizon. To most people, the two planets must have appeared to coalesce into a single “star” somewhat brighter than Venus alone. Eyeglasses were many centuries in the future, so only people with unusually acute vision would have seen the planets separated.

The fact that Jupiter and Venus had such a close conjunction at this time in history has led some people theorize that it could be an explanation for the Star of Bethlehem.” 3

However, once the details of the Jupiter-Venus unions are correlated to the signs surrounding Christ’s birth, the evidence becomes overwhelming.

Figure 2. Jupiter and Venus are due again for a repeat of their celestial rendezvous this month in Virgo on the evening of Nov. 24th as seen below. 4

Diagram: Slanted line of ecliptic with Jupiter and Venus close and Saturn above.

To further put this celestial activity in context for 2019, I refer you to our Jan. 2019 blog which documents the first Jupiter-Venus union of 2019, linked to the lunar eclipse triads that framed the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad. Here is an excerpt from this January’s Blog;

Generally, a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter happens once a year. But this year, in 2019Venus and Jupiter will not only rendezvous the day after the Super-Blood Moon, on Jan. 22nd as seen in Fig. 3 below, but also for a 2nd notable conjunction in 2019 on the evening of Nov. 24th, 2019.

Figure 3. Jupiter-Venus union aligned with Antares the Scorpion’s Heart Jan. 22nd, 2019.

There has been notable activity with the unions of Jupiter-Venus both at the birth of Christ and again linked to the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetradtwo years ahead of the Sept. 23rd, 2017 Rev. 12 sign.

The following dates, also show elements of the Celestial Sphinx in the Regulus unions in Leo, while the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions took place 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 had been the closest Venus- Jupiter conjunction during the 6 Lunar Eclipses of 2014-2016, until August 27, 2016, when Jupiter entered Virgo to eventually be “birthed” in 2017. This Venus-Jupiter union on August 27, saw these two planets three times closer than during their 2015 union when they were separated by only 1/3 of a degree.

As we continue ti investigate the notable celestial activity of the dual significance of the Rev. 12 signs leading to both the birth and return of Christ, the heavens will disclose what the Almighty wants us to be aware of in unity with His Will, written in His Word.


God Bless,

Agape’

Rene’

Footnotes

1. https://www.space.com/mercury-transit-2019-viewing-guide.html
2. Norton’s Star AtlasArthur P. Norton
3. https://www.space.com/33866-venus-jupiter-conjunction-star-of-bethlehem.html
4. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury [picture credit]


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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.