The Heart of the Magi

Birth of Jesus Christ

Biblical Astronomy of the Birth of Christ

This final message during Christmas weekend of our December 2016 blog is a Big Thank You to all of our new and longer standing readers and supporters. We have some exciting and unique products set to launch in 2017 and we will keep you updated on these events!

During this season of Holiday Cheer, those of us  who realize that Christ was NOT born on Dec. 25th, wonder if there is any Biblical significance to the remembrance of the birth of Christ at this time of year. Since much of the information on this blog and website shows proof of Christ’s birth on September 11th, 3 BC, we have documented that the Magi did not arrive in Jerusalem until December of 2 BC as the gospel of Matthew records;

Matt. 2:1-2
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

What Star did the Magi see that led them to Jerusalem? It was the King planet Jupiter that in 7-6 BC was involved in a triple conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn in Pisces, that served as a “Celestial Prelude” to the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Regulus in 3-2 BC, marking the birth of Jesus Christ. The Magi were astronomer- kings from the eastern land of Persia, who upon observing Jupiter’s movements, got started on their intrepid journey across about 900 miles of hostile desert territory towards Jerusalem. They did not arrive until December of the next year, when King Herod organized a meeting with his chief priests and teachers of the law.

Matt. 2:3-8
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

As the record denotes King Herod was not interested in “worshiping” Jesus, since he had all the children two years and under killed in Bethlehem. He would not have done this unless the exact time the star appeared to the Magi was close to the start of this 2-year time frame. The gospel also tells us the Magi found a “young child; paidion” in a Housenot a new-born; brephos in a manger or Inn when they arrived, [Matt. 2:11]. This is why God warned the Magi of Herod’s treachery in a dream to avoid Herod and take a different route to return to their homeland.

Matt.2:9-10
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

The King Planet Jupiter guided the hearts of the Magi to be among the first Gentiles to recognize the only begotten Son of God, as it halted in retrograde motion over Jerusalem and Bethlehem-a few miles to the south. The banner heading this blog post shows the skies with Jupiter standing still in Virgo over Bethlehem, during the winter solstice when the Sun, the light of the world was also standing still.
What a joy and thrilling time this was for the Magi to follow with precision, the stars and planets as the Creator set them in their orbits and celestial stations, to find the Promised Seed. Jupiter as “His Star” led the Magi to the Messiah’s dawning day, opening a way through the principles of Biblical Astronomy to the Redeemer-the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostles led by Peter, were also eyewitnesses to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as he opened and served his ministry to Israel, which was validated in a mandate from Heaven with audible words from the Almighty.

Image result for mount of transfiguration pictures

2 Peter 1:16-19

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

The miracles of this Scriptural account of the birth of Christ fulfilled the grand purposes of the Almighty through His only begotten Son, to redeem mankind from the clutches of the adversary. The emphasis here is that the Truth of God’s Word is better than any eyewitness account could ever be; God Said It, that settles it! As the light of Jesus Christ the bright and Morning Star arises in our hearts even greater than it did for the Magi, we are sealed and reserved for an ever bright eternity with our Heavenly Father, in Christ as members of the spiritual body of his Church.

As we walk in the spirit with God in Christ in us, we too are not only “warned of God” when evil is afoot from the enemy, but we have the the freedom to take every step with the Almighty through Christ, enjoying the Abundant life in our complete fellowship of body, soul and spirit; so that we are preserved blameless unto the coming and soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ, [1 Thess. 5:23].

T’is the Season to remember and honor these truths that have called and saved us from this dark and perverse world…

 

Footnote

1. The Transfiguration by Carl Bloch [picture Credit]

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Biblical Astronomy of the 2016-17 Comets and the Blood Moon Tetrads

BirthofChrist
2016-17 Comets and the Blood Moon Tetrads

There has been some noteworthy Comet activity in the heavens during 2016, going into 2017, relating to our previous November 2016 blog. We noted significant events in the Nov. 14th Super Moon post, which was the largest Super-Moon since the 1948 Super-Moon, preceding the Blood Moon Tetrad of 1949-50. We should also realize that other heavenly signs like Comets were prominent during this time, with Israel re-forming as a nation-state for the first time in nearly 2000 years.

The 1948 Comet-called the “Eclipse Comet” was a spectacular sight approaching the Sun during the first week of November with a total solar eclipse. This eclipse occurred after Sukkot week at sundown Nov. 1st, leading into the 8th month- Rosh Chodesh Chesvan. It was first noticed as a brilliant object about 2 degrees southwest of the Sun during the total solar eclipse on November 1st, mag. about -2, with a 20 degree tail. Its southwest path through Hydra during November and December as a 2nd magnitude object with a tail up to 30 degrees long, was visible mainly in the Southern and low Northern latitudes. This 1948 Eclipse Comet appeared near the eclipsed sun as if the Sun was holding a sword. With its position passing through Hydra-the Serpent destroyed, this sword was raised against the serpent-enemy persecuting Israel. As a prelude to the 1949-50 Blood Moon Tetrad, this Eclipse Comet brought attention to the luni-solar Eclipse Tetrads that would also take place in 1967-68 marking Israel’s re-taking of Jerusalem, along with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015.

The Comet theme is not only consistent with the message of our previous November blog post on the Comets in Perseus, but also throughout 2016 going forward into 2017. Our December blog post will summarize the Comet activity through the year and give us a preview of Comet activity we can expect going into the New Year. The first Comet we will look at in Fig. 1 below is known as Catalina.

Figure 1. Path of Comet Catalina

Northern Dash

Comet Catalina [C/2013 US10] is an Oort Cloud Comet that became visible to the naked eye around November 24th 2015, after coming to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 15 November, just after the conclusion of the 2014-215 Blood Moon Tetrad. In Figure 2 below we can see Venus just prior to its Lunar Occultation.

Comet Catalina was discovered in 2013 by the Catalina Sky Survey, near Tucson, Arizona. The Comet was joined in an a dazzling celestial triad including the waning Crescent Moon and Venus in December 2015.

Figure 2. Venus on the Edge of the Moon. 

phil-venus-occultation

Venus was seen just to the left- above the Moon, so bright in the sky it was visible to the naked eye in daylight. Around 12:30 p.m., the brilliant light of Venus the bright and Morning Star was covered by the Moon in an occultation, reemerging on from the lunar dark side a few hours later.

Comet Catalina is seen below in Fig. 3 moving northward through Virgo near Spica.

Looking southeast to left of the brightest planet Venus, about an hour before sunrise, Venus the bright and Morning Star, was near the star Spica in the constellation Virgo, very easy to see, out-shining the Comet like a laser beam.

Above Venus is the the-dimmer red planet MarsMichael signifying the presence of the Warrior Arch-Angel. Also higher up in Virgo-is Jupiter the King Planet, forming a December Planetary Alignment as Jupiter heads towards Virgo’s womb, in the late Summer and Fall of 2017.

Figure 3. Virgo Planetary Alignment with Comet Catalina

 On the Morning of Dec. 7th the comet paired with Venus and the waning crescent Moon as seen from the Central US, in Virgo close to her womb. This seems to foreshadow Jupiter’s 2017gestation period” in Virgo’s womb. As Catalina passed north at about 1° per day, it left Virgo into Boötes on Christmas Eve, on a beeline for Arcturus on New Year’s Day, 2016-marking the New Year in a solar conjunction as the comet glided 1/2 degree southwest of the Sun, preparing us for a year of unique Comet activity. The Constellation Böötes represents the work of the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherdlaboring to enter into in the promised land resting place (H4496 menuchah, Ps. 23:2, Isa. 28:10,12; Num. 11:33) between the sheepfolds, opening the way as he leads his flocks.

Aratus’ name for Bootes is Arctophylax, ie. the guardian of Arctos, the flock of the greater fold, called today the great bear. This aligns with the name of the brightest star in Böötes, Arcturus, which was probably the name of this sign in antiquity [Job 9:9], providing a conclusive link with the celestial shepherd and his flocks. It is intriguing to see Draco the dragon depicted below, as winding his way down between these two flocks in the northern skies, with the lower coils of his tail under the star Thuban, the archaic pole star.

After the comet came closest to Earth at 66.9 million miles, on Jan. 12, 2016, the Comet swept just 1° north of the star Alkaid, at the tip of the Big Dipper’s handle, on January 14–15. Two days later it sped by the double star Mizar in the handle’s bend, as a magnitude 5 object. [see Fig. 1]  After a fairly slow start in Virgo, the comet raced across the sky, becoming a circumpolar object in Ursa Major by mid-January. Then around Jan. 21st Comet Catalina crossed into Draco cutting thru the dragon’s Tail near the North PoleSky & Telescope

Figure 4. Comet Panstarrs in Pisces.

Image result for comet panstarrs images

A few months after Catalina faded out of naked eye visibility, Comet C/2013X1 (PanSTARRS) stepped onto the stellar stage. Figure 4 above shows Comet PanStarrs moving through Pisces in mid-March near the Pegasus Square. It was seen with the Crescent Moon during this time, with a minimum Earth distance of about 1/2 AU through June 2016. This New Crescent Moon was significant this year as it followed a Total Solar Eclipse 3 days prior on March 9th, 2016 that was also Nisan 1 on the Hebrew Calendar. This was the first of four luni-solar eclipses on Hebrew feast and holy days in 2016, as a follow-up to the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-15. The second of these Eclipses was a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on Passover 3/23/2016, that was also Nisan 14, the very day of Christ’s crucifixion in 28 AD. It is noteworthy first that the four luni-solar eclipses in 2016 mirror luni-solar eclipses marking the Romans destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD. Secondly, Comet Panstarrs in Pisces  represents Israel-the Redeemed.

Other comets capturing our interest this month into 2017 include 45P/ Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova in January of 2017, depicted in Figure 5.

 Figure 5. Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova in Capricorn. 

 

 

Finder Chart Comet 45P/HMP

  This Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova should brighten quickly from mid-December into early January as it moves across Capricorn low in the southwestern sky at dusk. Capricorn the Goat calls attention to the perfect Sacrifice of Jesus Christ as he laid down his life for our sins, once and for all, enshrined at Passover. As we head towards the Spring of 2017, another Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak in March 2017, will attract our attention. These are the Comets with a greater potential of being visible to the naked eye in 2017, with the possibility of being close to Earth during these times.

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak may also reach naked-eye visibility (magnitude +6) in Ursa Major in early April 2017.  The comet has a history of outbursts. When Comet 41P/T-G-K passes closest to Earth (0.14 AU) in late March, it rushes across the circumpolar constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Draco. The comet’s path in April and May takes it across the Tail and in front of the Head of the Dragon Draco @ the North Pole. Like Comet Catalina it cuts thru the dragon’s tail, but Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresakalso also slices through the neck of the dragon removing its Head. This appears a precursor of the Great Dragon’s coming destruction as described in Revelation with five names:

Rev. 12:9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who deceives the whole world.

All this circumpolar Comet activity going into 2017 is indicative of the disasters that will be inflicted against the Dragon and his minions, in the coming judgment of the world.

Figure 6. Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak

Sublime Sublimation

A point of interest here is that one of the namesakes of this comet [Giacobini] was also linked with the parent comet the spawned the meteor shower leading up to the birth of Christ on Sept. 11th, 3 BC. The excerpt below is from my study [www.try-god.com] the Introduction to the Jupiter-Regulus Conjunctions.

“R.H. Allen adds that; “the conclusion of the verse [Rev. 12:4] “did cast them to the earth,” would show a possible reference to meteors.”6 This is the earliest reference in print I have found that ties a potential Meteor shower to this section of Revelation 12. This Meteor shower that originates from the tail of Draco, the cast down dragon, is linked to its parent comet, known today as the Giacobini-Zinner CometTraditionally comets have been viewed as omens of disaster, perhaps another ironic twist from the Heavenly Father to mark the fall of the archaic morning star with a celestial sign pointing out the dragon’s own disastrous end. As we noted with the previous Comet Catalina, the lunar Occultation of Venus was also apparent leading to Christ’s birth from September 9th to the 12th. The Eta-Draconid Meteor Showers, with their radiant in Draco, the Dragon cast down. The Moon was mid-body with the Sun in Virgo occulting the planet Venus, starting at 11:50 PM.”6

To add to this heightened show of recent comets, according to scientific data regarding incoming Oort cloud comets, they appear to be originating from one localized point of the Oort cloud. This indicates not random influence, but an unidentified specific object, as the cause of comets or asteroids potentially being knocked from their Oort cloud orbits and sent on altered trajectories towards the Earth.

On November 8th, 2016, Earth had a close encounter with a sizable asteroid. The asteroid, designated 2005 YU55, shot by Earth at a distance of about 200,000 miles, just this side of the lunar orbit. Obviously, asteroids have come this close to the Earth before, but not 400 meters in diameter since 1976, and these scientists tell us its likely not to happen again until 2028. Its interesting to note that the “fly-by” traffic in our part of the inner solar system started getting heavier around September 2015, at the conclusion of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad.  

In summary something may have disturbed an area of the Oort cloud recently, sending a stream of first time comets and asteroids hurtling in our direction that are now starting to arrive. What could have knocked these Oort cloud objects out of their orbits? Perhaps a distant planet from the outer solar system like the mysterious Planet X/Nibiru. We have also heard rumors of a red-brown dwarf star headed our way, or is it a star like Nemesis passing very close to, or even, breaching our solar system? Whatever form it takes it resembles what John described in Rev. 8:8-12.

Rev. 8:8-12
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

This is only part of the wrath that will be visited upon the inhabitants of the earth, during this quickly approaching judgment. The Christian believers as members of the spiritual body of Christ will already be seated with Christ in heaven during this time, so if you want to enjoy the eternal abundant blessings of Christ, with God the Father, you must come to him to receive your inheritance. [Romans 10:9-10]

God Bless!