Author: Rene Fretz

Recent Observations of Planet Parades in light of the 2024-2025 Lineups.

2024 has been an eventful year of celestial activity with sightings of the aurora borealis, the Solar Eclipses, and plenty of celestial signs, and as the New Year kicks off it seems we are off to a strong start for 2025. The New Year opened with the Quadrantids, Meteor Shower as it finished its peak mid-January, but runs through Jan. 16, the height of Mars opposition. Only a few days later in the New Year we are graced with a Planetary Parade. A Parade of Planets occurs when several of our solar system’s planets are visible together on the same side of the Sun in the night sky. It won’t be long before Six planets are visible in mid-January’s night sky. After Sunset, you’ll only have a couple of hours to view them before Venus, Saturn and Neptune dip below the horizon for the evening. No matter your location, these notable sky events are on tap from a wide viewing area near the same time. By the end of February, Mercury makes an appearance adding to a Planet Parade total of seven planets. They will be best viewed at sunset, but more difficult to see while the sun is still on the horizon.

Figure 1. The Six Planet Parade of Jan. 2025. #1  Stellarium

A key aspect of planet parades or alignments is that in some cases they occur as part of other historic celestial signs. We don’t have to look far for a recent example of this, as we had two separate Planet Parade’s in 2024, just last year.

Planetary Parades many times can be indicators of other key celestial events, like last year on June 3, 2024, if you were in the right part of the world on that night, you could be able to see up to six planets. Sharp-eyed viewers were able to see Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn with the naked eye. Those with high-powered binoculars or a telescope were also be able to view Uranus, which was located near Mercury, with Neptune, near Saturn as seen in Figure 3 below.

June 3rd saw a Second Planet Parade of 2024. The last one, a small alignment marked the April 8th, 2024 Total solar eclipse, opened on April 4, 2024, when four planets Venus, Mars, Saturn and Neptune aligned on the same side of the sun as Earth. Viewer’s in the Eclipse‘ path of totality could spot Jupiter, Venus, Saturn & Mars right in the middle of the April 8th eclipse, although Mars and Saturn may have been more difficult to spot. On April 20, 2024 there was another planetary alignment of five planets: Venus, Mercury, Neptune, Mars & Saturn, bracketing the April 8th, 2024 Total solar eclipse. This led to the June 3rd-Six planet Alignment below, both categorized as “Large Planet Alignments“, consisting of 5-6 planets. The last “Large Planetary Alignment” of this kind for 2024 fell on Aug. 28th- aligning the 6 Planets : Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. #3

Figure 3. The June 3rd, 2024 Six Planet Alignment.#4

Figure 6. Planetary Alignment Infographic. #7

After that, the seven-planet parade will begin as Mercury briefly joins the others in the sky for a couple of days, turning this into a 7 planet parade of all our solar system planets except Earth. It will be difficult to see them all since Saturn, Mercury and Neptune will be near to the sun right at sunset, but they will all be present. By the time March opens, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune will have drifted too close to the sun for naked eye visibility with Venus close in tow, leaving only Jupiter, Mars and Uranus to populate the visible night sky. Uranus and Neptune are binocular targets, as Mars reaches opposition on Jan. 15th, before it’s occulted by the Moon in a rare event on Jan. 13th, 2025.

Figure 7. The Moon Occulting the Pleiades star cluster. #8

Job 38:31-33
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth the Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

The early morning reveals Mercury-Gabriel the Messenger Planet, as the Moon crossed the Pleiades (M45), on January 9th at 7 pm. EST, as seen from New York City, the waxing gibbous Moon was very close to the Pleiades star cluster. Shortly thereafter, the Moon began crossing in front of the Pleiades, taking about 3 hours to complete its pass in front of the famed cluster. Note that the Pleiades appear about twice the size as the apparent diameter of the moon.

From NYC, observers saw the 10-day-old Moon track across the southern part of the cluster; occulting the stars Electra (magnitude 3.7), Merope (4.2), and Alcyone at about 7:06 p.m., 7:35 p.m., and 8:18 p.m. EST, respectively. Over an hour later, the Moon’s dark limb reached the other side of the cluster to cover Pleione (5.0) at 9:21 and Atlas (3.6) at 9:33. From this view, the moon missed two of the seven brightest Pleiades stars, Maia (3.9) and Taygeta (4.3). Soon after 10 p.m. the Moon moved beyond this beautiful ancient cluster. #9

The timing of these occultations highly depends on location; check the International Occultation Timing Association’s website for more info,(www.lunar-occultations.com)

Figure 8. Lunar Occultation of Mars, Jan. 13th, 2025. #10

 Most observatories in California, Texas, Ohio and New York in the US, along with Calgary in Canada and Mexico City, Mexico will enjoy visibility for this Planetary Parade, for all six planets at each location. Generally, the best time to view this Planet Parade will be after Jan. 21, 2025, and before Feb. 21, 2025. The best time will be the week of Jan. 29 during the New Moon. (As a shadowed moon, new moons appear as a moonless sky.) But the shadowed moon’s reduced  light pollution makes the planets Neptune, Uranus and Saturn easier to spot.
Uranus and Neptune are binocular targets, as Mars reaches opposition on Jan. 15th, before it’s lunar occultation in a rare event on Jan. 13th, 2025.

Venus dazzles us in the southwestern sky after sunset all month, brightening quickly, it’s easily visible as twilight descends. On Jan. 1st, Venus’ near half-lit disk was joined by the waxing crescent Moon, on Jan. 2 and 3, standing 10° SW, 4° east of the bright and Morning Star. Notice on the 4th that the Moon is 4° northeast of Saturn, before occulting it, which is about 13° from Venus.

 Figure 9. The Moon, Venus and Saturn in Aquarius. #11

Venus closes the gap to Saturn over the next few days, standing just under 4° west of the gas giant on the 14th, coming closest on the 17th, when only 2.2° separates them. By the 19th, Venus is 2.5° due north of the ringed planet, shining at magnitude 1.1. The thin waxing crescent Moon will hang in the bright twilight low on western horizon shortly after sunset, Jan. 30, 2025. Brilliant Venus will shine higher in the sky in Saturn’s steady golden light  nearby. Venus the bright and Morning Star shares this evening union with Saturn, while the King Planet Jupiter reigns high in Taurus, reaching its highest elevation in the later evenings of early January.

Venus the bright and Morning Star crosses into western Pisces on the 23rd ending the month 1.5° from Lambda (λ) Piscium. Uranus appears fixed against the background stars of Aries, ending its retrograde loop as January closes, at magnitude 5.7, an easy binocular target. Located about 8° southwest of the Pleiades, Uranus is south of a bright 5th-magnitude star, 63 Arietis, with the planet Uranus standing 2.5° due south of this star. Neptune sits near 12° east of Saturn, shining at magnitude 7.8. By the end of January it lies in the same binocular field as Venus, acting as a marker to find the distant planet, and remains at a similar distance through the 31st.

The planet is 5.5° from a waxing gibbous Moon Jan. 10, standing 5° north and slightly east of Aldebaran the Bull’s eye in Taurus, Jan. 31. Most days all 4 of Jupiter’s Galilean moons- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — are visible; at times one is transiting in front, or hidden behind Jupiter’s disk, along with its shadow.

Figure 10. Jupiter’s Four Visible Galilean Moons. #12

Composite images of Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons. From left to right the moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The Galileo spacecraft obtained the images to make this composite in 1996. Image via NASA Photo-journal.

Jan. 1 sees Io disappear and then re-emerge from Jupiter’s vast shadow. The moon vanishes behind the northwestern limb, just before 8 pm. EST. Watch the space 12″ east of the planet to see Io appear just before 10:45 pm. EST.

Around 8:25 p.m. EST on the 6th, Europa began to transit. Shortly before 10 pm. EST, its shadow appears. Europa exits the disk @ 11 pm. EST; the shadow exits about an hour and a half later.

Jupiter and its moons are seen in the myths of Aquarius–an ancient Sign or constellation, with long-standing astronomical history dating back prior to the era of Greek mythology around 3000BC. The constellation myth tells of Aquarius when Prince Ganymede was captured by Zeus and taken to Mount Olympus to be a cup-bearer for the Gods. As fickle Zeus grew weary of the boy, he gave him eternal life and deified him in the heavens. A century before this, in Sumer about 4000 BC, Sumerian astronomers linked the Aquarius constellation in their celestial myth to a youth who was bearer of a deluge that destroyed the Earth, that has been tied to the Biblical flood of Noah. Perhaps the ancients envisioned the activities of their idol gods with Zeus-Jupiter’s moons…but that is certainly not what we do in Biblical Astronomy! Hopefully, you can see the positive fruit that results as we let the Scriptures speak for themselves regarding the Celestial Gospels, since it was the Almighty Creator Who named and numbered the stars, that relate the truth of the Biblical narratives as they are told in the Heavens, [Ps. 147:4, Isa. 40:22-26].

On the 16th, Io transits from 8:36 pm. to 10:48 pm. EST, with a shadow visible from 9:32 pm. to 11:44 p.m. EST. As the shadow is exiting the western limb, Ganymede is occulted on the same side almost simultaneously, taking a few minutes to disappear.

Ganymede reappears at the northeastern limb around 1:51 am. EST (Jan. 17 in the Eastern and Central time zones). It then drops into Jupiter’s shadow 90 minutes later. You’ll see it starting to fade just before 3:30 a.m. EST. Ganymede crosses the disk Jan. 27. East Coast viewers may catch the beginning of the transit at sunset. The moon exits starting around 7:20 pm. EST. The shadow starts transiting around 9:40 pm. EST, and the shadow transit ends starting at 11:49 p.m. EST.

Figure 11. January 15th Southern skies ay Midnight. #13

A highlight of the month is the opposition of Mars late on Jan. 15. It peaks at magnitude –1.4, as bright as Sirius. Astronomical opposition means that a planet is located on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. From our view, it means planets at opposition are precisely 180° from the Sun in the sky — so, when the Sun sets in the west, a planet appears in the east. Mars starts January in Cancer as it moves west, entering Gemini’ Twins by the 12th.

Oppositions of Mars occur every 780 days. The planet’s diameter reaches nearly 15″. Mars’ closest approach to Earth occurs Jan. 12, a few days before opposition. It then stands 59,703,891 miles away. Mars oppositions occur only once in 2–3 years.

Watch for moments when Mars reveals its glory. Mars appears to rotate back-wards when viewed at the same time each night. At 9 p.m. local time from the central U.S. (look an hour later in the east, and an hour or two earlier farther west), you’ll see Olympus Mons-the largest Volcano in the Solar System and the Tharsis Ridge region facing us in the first week of January.

Figure 12. Olympus Mons; on Mars Surface. #14

On the 13th, Mars is occulted by the Moon; see Fig. 8 above. Timing depends on location, but the East Coast sees Mars disappear around 9 pm. EST; this is soon after twilight fading to Mountain time zone. It takes about 20 seconds for Mars to be fully covered. Along the Pacific Coast, this occurs soon after Moonrise in evening twilight. Mars reappears about an hour later.

Mercury is visible in the early-morning sky. On Jan. 1 its an easy object to see in the twilight, 12° east of Antares, standing 6° high in the SE sky by 6:30 am. local time. Check the region with binoculars because soon after Mercury rises, you may spot the Trifid (M20) and Lagoon (M8) nebulae 2° east and SE of Mercury–Gabriel the messenger planet, less than 1° north of the Lagoon Nebula of Sagittarius on Jan. 9, and by the 14th is within 15′ of M22.

Figure 13. Skies of Jan. 7, 2025, 40 minutes before Sunrise to the Southeast. #15

The preceding has been a Summary view/log of examples of Planetary Parades and Alignments from recent/ modern cases, namely those linked to the 2017-2024 US Total Solar Eclipses, primarily. Added recent samples may be documented as they are uncovered. The balance of this study will take into account Planet Parade samples from ancient history in light of the Bible Patriarchs & the Precession of the Equinoxes, as they relate to the birth of Christ. We will pick this up with a view of the astronomy surrounding the birth of Abram.

The Celestial Signs Marking Abram’s Birth

In consideration of the celestial signs marking The Birth of Abraham, in 1953 BC, we will review some pertinent astronomical history. We have noted in other studies, that the Conjunction cycle of Jupiter-Saturn is known to provide a window on the precession of the equinoxes, according to the cadence of their base 60 planetary Rhythms. This concept is found in the astronomy of numerous ancient cultures including the Maya, Romans, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Chinese, and the astronomers of ancient Egypt. In fact, even the ancient Chinese Zhuanxu Calendar is thought to have started in 1953 BC, linked with a significant predawn all-planet alignment on March 5th. As Kevin Pang and John Bangert, astronomers of the Jet Propulsion Labs, in an ancient text written by Liu Xiang [77-9 BC], this alignment took place near the Pegasus Square. The idea of a Jupiter-Saturn triple Conjunction occurring with an alignment of the planets, was thought to indicate a termination point, where all the planetary cycles were in agreement, similar to the inception point of their cycles. This is thought to coincide with the intersection of the precessional cycle with the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, located in Sagittarius. This explains the popularity of the 2012 date, in the Astronomy of the Maya among others, as a date hailing the end of the world.

God designed certain triple Conjunctions of Jupiter-Saturn  as individual markers and movements in a great celestial Symphony of the Ages, ultimately leading to Christ’s Birth. The triple Conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn we will notice took place in the sign Aquarius in 1953 BC, marking the Birth of Abram. As the Father of Many Nations, and the progenitor of the line of believer’s, Abraham through his offspring Isaac and Jacob would bear the promised seed. This triple Conjunction confirmed that Christ would come out of the nation of Israel, which constituted the 12 tribes of Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, to reflect his spiritual inheritance.

Another Triple Conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn  took place 417 years later in the sign of Taurus the Bull. This marked the Birth of Moses, the forerunner of Christ as the Deliverer of Israel. A 1,000 years later, Daniel taught the Magi on these planetary unions from the contemporary example of a Jupiter-Saturn triple union 523-522 BC in Virgo. Less than 400 years later, near 132 BC a “new star“ or perhaps a recurrent supernova exploded onto the scene, in a decan of the sign Virgo, called Coma. Pictured as seen in the Dendera zodiac below, in the head of the child held in his mother’s arms, this supernova or new star, drew attention to the decan Coma meaning “The Desired of all Nations” [Hag. 2:7]. This supernova burned brightly for over 250 years as a beacon lighting the way to the general time wherein the birth of Christ would occur. This disclosed that as The Desire of all Nations, Christ was coming for the redemption of the Gentiles, not just Israel.

Figure 14. The decan Of Coma in the Dendera Zodiac.#16

The Magi were surely some of the first of these Gentiles whose response to this light of salvation made history. The Coma supernova also set the stage for the third triple union of Jupiter-Saturn in 7 BC that lead to the birth of Christ. This Conjunction took place in Pisces and marked a transition in the ages of the precession of the equinoxes, from the Age of Aries to the Age of Pisces. This new Precessional Age was marked because for the prior 2160 years, Aries was the sign wherein the Sunrise occurred on the Spring equinox. The Triple union of Jupiter-Saturn in 7 BC marked the first time that the Sun arose in the Sign of Pisces, on the Spring equinox, signifying a new Precessional Age, the Age of Pisces.- the Fishes. Over 2000 years has already passed since this opening of the Piscean Age, and the Birth of Christ that occurred three years after its opening. This Sign of Pisces is marked by two fish, one swimming vertically towards the North Pole and the other horizontally along the ecliptic. These fish represent the houses of Israel and Judah, further disclosing that the Promised Seed would originate out of the Royal House of Leo the Lion of the tribe of Judah, [Rev. 5: 5]. Christ had to be the Son of Adam, Abraham and David in order to fulfill all righteousness. The fullness of the gap between the sufferings of the Lord, seen during his first coming, and his glorious return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords continues to take place in the Piscean Age. Finally, this 7 BC triple union of Jupiter-Saturn gave the Magi all they  needed to identify the signs marking the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC when the triple Conjunction of Jupiter-Regulus took place in Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This panoramic view of Biblical and Celestial History, beautifully encapsulates how God utilized the Natural Law witness in the heavens, coordinated with Divine Scripture, building in greater detail, in Messianic Prophecies the identity of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

In the THE HISTORICITY OF THE BIBLE; CHRONOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY and ARCHAEOASTRONOMY by Iurii Mosenkis  #17

Mosenkis puts forth some interesting concepts concerning how the the Bible might include much more information about celestial events than it is commonly known or traditionally considered. Abraham’s calculation of the stars (Gen. 15:5) included his observation of the cattle, goat, ram, & two doves at night (Gen. 15:9-10, 17), ie. Taurus, Capricorn, and Aries constellations, the Pleiades (‘doves’ in ancient Greek astronomy), and the Milky Way respectively.

We are presenting some of the more interesting ideas from his book below. A leading type of celestial sign as we have seen above, are Planetary Parades and Alignments. Below we will point out where Mosenkis highlights certain key ancient historical Planetary Parades that support themes of modern Alignments of planets.

Why astronomy might be concealed in the Bible.   

A category Mosenkis points out are ancient Greek concepts (also well-known in the Babylonian & other ancient astronomical traditions) of constellations which rise simultaneously with some other constellation. As the Aquila sign-(the ‘eagle’) rises with Scorpio constellation (‘scorpion’), so Aquila replaced Scorpio among four constellations of the solstices and equinoxes in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. Additionally he points to the key concept of Precession as an astronomical cycle which is very significant to understand in ancient symbolism. Every 2000, [2160] years the points of solstices and the equinoxes change their constellations. E. g., the vernal equinox point was located in Gemini (‘twins’) during c. 6000–4000 BC, in Taurus (‘ox’) during c. 4000–2000 BC, in Aries (‘ram’) during c. 2000–1 BC, in Pisces (‘two fish’) from c. 1 AD., to the present.  These epochs are named the Zodiacal/Precesional Ages such as the Age of Gemini, the Age of Taurus, etc. 18/[2] See the comments: Dobin, J. Op. cit., p. 153–154.

He also suggests a correlation between the Biblical story of the Creation and the geological data, where specific correlations may be found: six days of the Creation were six millennia of the warm period since the end of the glacial period., and the Ice Age. A Skeptic’s question is: what do 6 days of the Creation imply?

Researcher’s answer as follows. First, what the ‘day’ means in the cosmogonical context of the Biblical story? We can find an answer in both the Old and the New Testaments. After the mention of the Creation (Ps. 89:3), the divine author states that the thousand years is like one day (Ps. 89:5). The same idea repeats in the NT in 2 Petr. 3:8. Second, during a long period of pre-written (oral) history only astronomical and genealogical calculations of the past were possible. If the thousand years is not genealogical concept, we must search the period among astronomical ones. The best equivalent is lunar one: the moon stays in one of 27 ‘lunar mansions’ during about one thousand years. The similar intervals might be symbolically described in the Hurrian epic: ever of four gods (Alalu, Anu, Kumarbi, and Tessub) rules over the heaven for ‘nine days’ and is expelled from the heaven in the ‘tenth day’ which may symbolize a one-thousand-year period.

Thus, if one wants to search some correlation between the Biblical story of the Creation and the geological data, a specific correlation might be found: six days of the Creation were six millennia of the warm period since the end of the glacial period. This time of very favorable climate (so-called Atlantic period) ended at the same time, and climatic conditions abruptly worsened. The event might be symbolically interpreted as the expulsion from Paradise.

Thus people can understand the Biblical text in the wider cultural context.

Celestial Conjunctions in a broad sense occur as two or more celestial bodies, mainly planets, are visibly close to each other. The planet parade (in a broad sense) is the collection of the sun, the moon, and the planets in the same sign or constellation, or in adjoining constellations. Solar & lunar eclipses repeat after these periods; the 18-year saros and the 54-year triple saros or exeligmos (already calculated in the ancient times) are significant among them.

The planet parade in the water constellation of Aquarius (the World Flood in  ancient thought) of 2190 BC, coincided with the destruction of several Near Eastern civilizations and was interpreted as the Flood. The Gutian invasion in Mesopotamia in the same time was called a “flood” in Sumerian literature. The postdiluvian building of the Babel Tower correlated in its image and time with the building of the Ziggurat of Ur.

THE GLOBAL FLOOD AND THE BABEL TOWER:  Where and when were they?  

THE EARLY/MIDDLE BRONZE AGE TRANSITION in the stories of the Flood and the Babel Tower Iurii Mosenkis #19

The planet parade in the water constellation of Aquarius; the World Flood in 2190 BC coincided with the destruction of several Near Eastern cultures and civilizations, was interpreted as the Flood. The post-diluvian building of the Babel Tower correlated in its form, architecture and time with building of the Ziggurat of Ur.  The Deluge occurred 1656 years after God’s Creation (Masoretic version) which is dated to 3760 BC, i. e. in the 22nd cent. BC. The ancient celestial sign of the Deluge (according to Plato, Berossus, & Josephus Flavius etc.) was the planet parade in a winter ‘water’ constellation while the sign of the Fire was the planet parade in a summer ‘fire’ constellation. Noah’s Ark like the Gilgamesh Ark symbolically relates to Pegasus‘ Square as eight inhabitants in Noah’s Ark were symbolized by the Sun, the Moon, and six planets (including Uranus visible to the naked eye). The planet parade in Aquarius near Pegasus occurred on February 14, 2190 BC coincided with a Solar Eclipse. 1 Post-Biblical sources also linked the Flood with the Pleiades, 2 The spring equinoctial Sun was located near the asterism at this time. Triple dating of the Flood in the Biblical tradition is reconstructed: by the ages of the Patriarchs (that can be summarized to calculate the Flood date), by the planet parade (interpreted as the Flood) in Scripture, and with the Spring Equinox related to the Pleiades via the Precession of the Equinoxes. The dry period during 22nd c. BC caused the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the fall of the Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia, early bronze civilization of Canaan, Early Minoan period in Crete, the collapse of Neolithic cultures near Central China and extraordinary floods of the Yellow River 3, described in the Chinese sources, also had astronomical  interpretations; as China floods are confirmed by natural, historical, and astronomical evidence. The Hekla H-4 eruption about 2310 BC can be related to climatic events. 1 The Mesopotamian floods had earlier archeological dates. The flood in the Sumerian epic is also earlier. However, the first written mentions of the Gilgamesh Epic and SA.GAZ/Hapiru (may include Abraham’s “Hebrew“ people) are dated from the same period, XXII–XXI cc. BC. The astronomers of the Third Dynasty of Ur may have seen the celestial event. 2 ‘In the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 58b), the Pleiades [Job 38:31-33] r e p r e s e n t cosmic frost, combatting Orion’s cosmic heat, [Sirius] and the “sluices of heaven” told in the Deluge story were opened by pulling two stars from the Pleiades’.

The centuries-old enigma of the Great Deluge  

The Biblical concept of the Global Flood is very impressive for all readers of the text. Folklorists (such as J. J. Frazer) compare the motif with similar stories from all continents, archaeologists (like L. Woolley) unearths traces of local floods in several Mesopotamian cities, whereas critics of the Bible historicity (as L. Taxile) laugh. However, no interpreters link the story with the well-known events
of the 22^nd century BC when the Flood occurred, according to the Biblical chronology. It will become clear that the key to the Flood enigma may be found in the history of that century.   

Sir James Georg Frazer in his famous book Folklore in the Old Testament collected the flood stories from all over the world. After the well-known excavations of Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, the archaeologically identified Mesopotamian floods became regarded as main prototypes of the Biblical flood. On the other hand, the Global flood is described in Babylonian and  Sumerian literature. Despite the literary influence of this Mesopotamian Epic on the Biblical text, archaeologically attested floods in Mesopotamia are not related with the Biblical narrative since dates of these ‘floods’ are different in localized cities, and all the dates precede the Biblical date.

The date of a Global Deluge in the Bible is clear: 1656 years after the Creation, or c. 2104 BC. No archaeological floods in the Near East were attested in this time, but we may take into consideration not only material culture and also 1) celestial signs and 2) chronological data from other traditions.

Starting with the latter, it is clear to the archaeologists that no global deluge, common for Greece, the Near East, and China, can be attested at any time in general and around 2200 BC in particular (only in China the river ‘deluges’ are attested in that time). Thus, we must search for possible traces of the deluge not on the earth but in the heaven. We must remember an ancient concept of the ‘Great Year’ (or Annus Magnus in Latin; precession), which likens a year to a far longer celestial or astronomical cycle (whose duration was disputable to many ancient authors). According to the idea, known in Babylonia (explained by Babylonian priest Berossus who lived in Greece) and in Greece (expounded by Plato), the earth periodically suffered from the great fire and the great flood. The fire occurs when all known planets gather in a summer constellation, but the flood occurs when the planets are collected in a winter constellation. Let’s note that the images of the winter constellations are closely related to the concept of water: where the boat-shaped Capricorn, 20/[2] wave-shaped Aquarius, 21/[3] and Pisces (‘two fish’) are. In addition, the ship where some humans save themselves from the flood in the Sumero-Babylonian epic has a square form like the Pegasus Square constellation near Pisces. 22/[4] [also in agreement with the square of Noah’s Ark].      

The several planet parades in or near the aforementioned ‘Water signs’ may be calculated in the 22^nd century BC. 23/[5] These celestial signs coincided with a significant climatic event 24/[6] such as the severe centennial-scale drought in northern Africa, southwestern Asia and mid-continental North America. The dry period during the 22^nd century BC caused the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the fall of the Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia, the end of the early bronze civilization of Canaan and the Early Minoan period in Crete, the collapse of the Neolithic cultures around Central China and large floods of the Yellow River.25/[7]  The more exact climatic date is 2180–2170 BC, 26/[8] This date can be linked with a planet parade according to the ancients.  

We must mention some possible historical and literary sources, that may have partially influenced the Biblical flood narrative. On the one hand, the afore-mentioned end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt in the time of the Biblical deluge occurred after the 100-year rule of Pharaoh Pepi/Piopi II, who may resemble the long-aged antediluvian Patriarchs (despite that their ages might mainly reflect the astronomical periods). On the other hand, the mountainous tribe of the Gutians invaded Sumer about 2150 BC, and this invasion was considered a deluge in the Sumerian poem. 27/[9]

Post-Biblical sources linked the Flood with the Pleiades, 28/[10] a sign of the sailing season in the ancient Greek astronomy, and the Spring equinoctial sun was located near the asterism at this time. Triple dating of the Flood in the Biblical tradition may be reconstructed: 1) by the ages of the Patriarchs (which can be summarized to calculate the Flood date), 2) by the planet parade (interpreted as the Flood), 3) by the spring equinox related to the Pleiades.   

The dove, released as the symbol of the ending flood after the 40-day rains (Gen. 8:6–12), symbolizes the star group of the Pleiades (‘doves’ and the sign of sailing in ancient Greek astronomy), appearing in the Spring after a 40-day period of invisibility.

Primordial Heaven [Gen. 1:1]
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was without shape (tōhū) and empty (bōhū), and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep (t^ehōm), but the Spirit (rū^ah.) 29/[1] of God was moving (the root rh.f ‘to soar’ related to rh.m ‘to hatch’) over the surface of the water’ (Gen. 1:1–2). Let us examine the key concepts of the passage.

Tōhū is akin to names of sea and sea monster [2]. Not only Tōhū but also cognate Akkadian Tiamat ‘primeval water monster’ and Leviathan-‘water monster’ (mentioned in other Biblical books, Job 41) might be compared to the Egyptian constellation of Crocodile (modern Draco).[3]

Bōhū as a cognate of Hebrew b^ehēmōt [9x in OT; Deut. 32:24, Job 12:7, 40:15, Ps. 49:12, 20, 50:10, 73:22, Jer. 12:4, Hab. 2:17] ‘earth monster’ comparable to the Egyptian constellation of Hippopotamus (Ezek. 29:3 Ursa Minor).[4]

The Spirit of God (rū^ah, a cognate of the Arabic legendary bird Ruhh name) can be related to the image of Cygnus constellation (‘swan’ or simply ‘bird’ in ancient Greek astronomy).[5]

Thus, three primordial beings in the Creation story (Tōhū, Bōhū, and Ruah) might be linked to the circumpolar (unsetting, ‘immortal’) constellations of Draco, Ursa Minor, and Cygnus. Aforementioned Behemoth, Leviathan, and the monstrous bird Ziz of medieval legends might be other images of the same constellations.

On the other hand, the three primordial beings of Chaos may symbolize three Babylonian zones of the heaven: tōhū may be referred to the zone of Enki-Ea the water god (the southern constellations), bōhū may be linked to the zone of Anu the sky god (the constellations near the ecliptic), ruah refers to the zone of Enlil the air god (the northern constellations).

Behemoth’s sword (Job 40:19) and ‘the flame of a whirling sword’ which guarded the Paradise of Eden (Gen. 3:24) may be regarded as sword-shaped Cygnus or likely as Boötes which also resembles the sword. The fall of the primordial serpent in the book of Revelation may be related to such astronomical events as the exit of the North Celestial Pole from the constellation of Draco (post–2000 BC-precession of the pole star–Thuban)
with the motion of the constellation toward the horizon.

The throne of God (merkābāh) is a cognate of the name of chariot (Markab–star), whereas the unsetting circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major was regarded as a chariot in ancient astronomy[6].

Ursa Major might also appear in the image of menorah (1st description: Exodus 25:31-40) as ‘a lamp to burn continually’ (Ex. 27:20; Lev. 24:2-4). Hanuka (as the rite of altar renovation) and the burning of Hanukal menorah may symbolize the winter location of Ursa Major in direct opposition to the rising decan Ara (literally ‘altar’).[7] [Also seen in Rev. 1:20; 7 stars as angels of the 7 churches]

30/[1] Hebrew rū^ah. ‘breath, soul, wind’, Ugaritic rh, rh. ‘id’ (О Балу, с. 413), cf. Sumerian EN.LIL ‘lord of wind’.

31/[2] Hebrew t^ehōm ‘abyss’ or ‘ocean’ (Abb. 3:10; Gen. 1:2, Ps. 42:8, Ps. 71:20, see: О Балу: Угаритские поэтические сказания, с. 358), Akkadian tâmtu ‘sea’ and Tiamat ‘sea monster as an embodiment of primordial chaos’ (slain by Marduk who was symbolized by Jupiter). [see abyssos–9x in NT; Lk. 8:31, Rom. 10:7, Rev. 9:1-2, 11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1-3]

32/[3] The name of Leviathan is a cognate of Ugaritic Lotan or Lawtan (who fights Baal Hadad) and Greek (borrowed from Semitic) Ladon (Draco, according to Hyginus’ Astronomy); cf. also Biblical monsters Tannin (Gen. 1:21; Ps. 74:13, comments: О Балу, с. 157; the same word in Ex. 7:9 means ‘snake’, in Ez. 29:3 ‘crocodile’, in Is. 27:1 ‘sea creature’; Hebrew tannin means ‘snake’, ‘sea snake’, ‘sea beast’: О Балу, с. 363) and Rahab (Is. 51:9; Ps. 89:10), Ugaritic snake Tunnunu fighting Balu (О Балу, с. 19-20, 181–182). The division of dragon in Babylonian cosmogonical myth means the creation of zodiac (this creation by Marduk after his victory over Tiamat is clearly described in the Babylonian epic). Draco is the primeval snake named Ophion in Orphism. However, some of these images might be influenced by the concept of the Hydra constellation.

33/[4] Bōhū is traditionally compared to βάαυ as a primordial creature of Phoenician cosmogony (Philo of Alexandria). Crocodile (Draco) is depicted on the back of the Egyptian hippopotamus-goddess Taurt (Ursa Minor). Cf. bhmtw as the designation of еру beast-shaped constellation in Qumranб Text I. 4Q 186.1: Тексты Кумрана, СПб., 1996, вып. 2, с. 264.

34/[5] Arabic Roc as Indian Garuda (which captures elephants and rhinoceroses) may also be Cygnus near Ursa Minor (behemoth in Egyptian mythology). The word rū^ah means ‘air’ and ‘wind’ in the Bible (Dobin, J., p. 215), and this word might be compared with Sum. En-lil, ‘god of wind’, as the lord of the northern sky; cf. also Eg. Shu, the god of air, and the first bird [Bennu bird] on the first hill (perhaps, the North Pole) in Egyptian cosmogony.

Preserved by the epic poet Hesiod and recently interpreted. Let us look at the sickle-shaped constellation of Scorpio which might symbolize the sickle of Cronus. About 3700 BC, the brightest star of Scorpio (Antares) became invisible in the autumnal equinox. From that time, two brightest stars were observable on the eastern horizon before the sunrise near October 6^th: red Arcturus and white Spica.

Let’s recall that humans, especially men, were depicted in red dyes in Ancient Near East (such Egyptian pictures are the most famous). Adam’s name means ‘red’ in Hebrew: the name reflects a belief that the man was created from red clay (adama in Hebrew). It is very likely that nomads, attentive to the night sky, associated the brightest red star of Arcturus with Adam, created from red clay. The neighboring bright star of Spica in Virgo these nomads may have connected with Eve.[1]

There was also a planet parade near Spica in September 3760 BC. Compared, to the present epoch the Indian timeline (Kali Yuga) began in 3102 BC from with a Planet Parade. Moreover, the constellation of Serpens (whose Latin name means ‘snake’) arose over the eastern horizon near Arcturus and Spica at that time. Naturally, the snake of Eden might be linked with the image of Serpens constellation.

35/[1] The name of Eve (Ḥawwāh ‘living one’, possibly influenced by a Hurrian goddess Heba known as ‘the mother of all living’) may be associated with Aviv, another name of the first month Nisan (Ex. 12:2; 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut. 16:1). The word abib means the stage in the growth of grain when the seeds have reached full size and are filling with starch, but have not dried yet. Perhaps, Aviv may be the Canaanite name of Spica. Spica rises in the evening while Aries rises in the morning during the first month of the Hebrew calendar.

The Biblical concept of Eden could be influenced from both of the mentioned sides, the Mesopotamian and Syrian traditions.

A careful reading of Genesis 2:9-14 on the rivers of Eden says; ‘And a river went out of Eden giving water to the garden; and from there it was parted and became four streams. The name of the first is Pishon, which goes round about all the land of Havilah where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: this river goes round all the land of Cush. And the name of a third river is Tigris, which goes to the east of Assyria. And the fourth river– Euphrates’ (Gen. 2:10-14). Usually, commentators look for four rivers, but it is clearly said in the text: these four rivers have one river as their source. What is the primordial river in Eden?

If Tigris and Euphrates are directly identified in the text, we must investigate other two rivers. Gihon in the land of Cush (northeastern Africa) was identified with Nile long ago by authoritative commentators of the Bible [1]. Moreover, the ancient Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily mentioned Okeane as the name of the Nile. It is clear that the names of Gihon and Okeane (variant: Ogen) are very similar.

And what is Pishon in the land of gold, and what kind of land it is? It is well-known that when the Bible was codified during the first millennium BC, Colchis in the western Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, was regarded as the gold-rich land where gold is mined very easily. Then, Biblical Pishon might be the Ancient Greek Phasis River (modern Rioni River) in Colchis, where the famous Argonauts sailed searching for the Golden Fleece. The Phasis River was the border of Europe and Asia, like the Nile bordered Asia and Africa, for the ancient Greek ‘father of history’ Herodotus.

Thus, what is that river whence not only the Euphrates and Tigris but also the Nile and the Phasis flow? It might be only the cosmological river of Oceanus, encircling the world in ancient Greek beliefs and depicted in the Babylonian world map. The stellar equivalent of the circular Oceanus River is the Milky Way which ancient Greeks named the ‘milky circle’. [In this Celestial version of Eden’s rivers, their mirror image is Eridanus, the river of judgment to the South pole that winds its course down to the infernal regions, under Orion’s Foot].

Searching for the astronomical images in the Biblical Eden narrative, we must recollect the Sumerian constellation of A.EDIN which was located in the place of the modern constellations of Virgo and Coma Berenices. It is the center of the Milky Way circle! Two trees of Eden (Genesis 2:17, 3:22) correspond with two ‘branches’ of the Milky Way.

Therefore, Eden may be a cosmological concept, tied to another cosmological concept of the World River, from which other rivers are flowing. In the Greek sacral geography, all rivers of the world flow from the Oceanus river, [2] the rivers are his children,[3] and the Oceanus is the river, associated with Elysium (a paradise in the ancient Greek beliefs).[4]        

If Adam and Eve can be linked with the stars, [Gen. 3:15, 49:9-10] we have the same possibility for Cain and Abel. If one was very bad and another was very good, we must recollect the similar ethical characteristics of the stars. First, we can cast a glance at Antares and Aldebaran. Several millennia BC they were not only very perceptible stars in the sky but also the points of the equinoxes. Among them, Antares had a bad reputation. Its name connects it with Ares (Mars) because both are red, whereas Mars was considered a sinister planet in ancient astrology. If Cain was a plowman and Abel a shepherd (Genesis 4:2-3) then their symbols might be easily found in the sky: Antares is the brightest star of the sickle-shaped Scorpio constellation (sickle as an attribute of the plowman) whereas Aldebaran is the brightest star of the bull-shaped Taurus (bull as an attribute of a plowman). These stars are in opposition: when one rises, the other sets. In addition, both these stars are described among ‘four royal stars’ (linked with solstices and the equinoxes) in ancient Iranian sacral astronomy, whereas Iranian influence on the Bible is doubtless for many scholars. Similar astronomical ideas may also be found in the astronomy of the Babylonians.

 The appearance of the proto-Semites: ethnological notes   

Perhaps, the story of Eden might reflect not only Sumerian or Hurrian homeland (cf. the Kura-Araxes migration in Levant) but also the migration of the Proto-Semites from the African homeland to Mesopotamia (Eden from Sumerian edin) via Egypt (Seth might be a god of Proto-Semites in the pre-Dynastic Egypt, cf. Seth as the son of Adam and the god of the Hyksos) and Canaan (where the proto-Semites might have a conflict with the Ghassul-Beersheba culture of the possible Anatolian or Caucasian origin, 36/[1] reflected in the Cain-Abel story). 37/[2] The Egyptian influence on the post-Ghassulian early Bronze Age people was dated to the end of pre-Dynastic period and the time of the First Dynasty. 38/[3] Horus & Seth in pre-Dynastic Egypt may symbolize the Indo-European (proto-Indo-European *Her-, ‘bird, eagle’ > Egyptian [her] ‘Horus, the solar falcon’) and Semitic (Seth the son of Adam > Egyptian Seth the god of desert peoples.   

[1] Wright, G. E. The archaeology of Palestine, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 91, No. 2 (Apr. – Jun., 1971), p. 280. Cf.: Tubb, J. N. Canaanites, University of Oklahoma Press (1998), p. 32.

[2] The desertification of Sahara c. 3500 BCE forced the Proto-Semites to migrate through the Nile Delta to western Asia. They were probably responsible for the collapsing of the Ghassulian culture (3800–3350 BCE), corresponded to Halafian culture, Amratian = Naqada I and early Minoan. Another indication to the arrival of the proto-Semitic culture is the appearance of tumuli in 4^th and 3^rd millennium Palestine, which were typical characteristic of Neolithic North Africa, Lipiński, Edward (2001). Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar. Peeters Publishers, p. 44; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Semitic_language#Homeland The beginning of the Early Bronze I period in Palestine coincided with the appearance of Egyptian artifacts, Мерперт Н. Я. Очерки археологии библейских стран, М., 2000, с. 123. It might be an evidence of migration via Egypt.

[3] Мерперт Н. Я. с. 123

Summary 
Some of the more intriguing data we have offered in this study pertains to historical facts that goes back to what Joseph Campbell referred to as the ‘World Monomyth.‘ As mention of the Tower of Babel was discussed in light of the ancient Ziggurat of Ur, we find evidence of an Ancient Celestial Gospel that was corrupted in the astrological heathen idolatry of this ‘mud-brick tower, found in the midst of an ancient city-tower in the Plain of the land of Shinar, [Gen. 11: 2-4], not embodying the KJV mistranslation; “whose tower may reach unto Heaven,” but instead “whose tower is a representation of the heavens,” or their Celestial order. As we reflect on the Celestial aspects of the historical themes presented in this study, we find clear roles for Planet Parades and alignments, especially as they link to certain solar and lunar eclipses in history. The roots of this Celestial Science go back to the Bible Patriarchs like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, etc. and their key roles in carrying the tenets of the Celestial Gospel forward. So we continue in these efforts today as the return of the Lord Jesus Christ grows nearer and we keep our heads to the sky, and grounded together in God’s Word!

God Bless,

Rene’

Footnotes

1. Figure 1 Picture credit- [https://www.cnet.com/science/planet-parade-of-six-seven-planets-mark-your-calendars-skygazing-january-2025/ Joe Hindy Dec. 20, 2024 3:24 p.m.] Stellarium
2. Figure 2 Picture Credit [https://starwalk.space/en/news/what-is-planet-parade#where–when-to-see-6-planets-in-2025]
3. https://www.aol.com/planets-aligning-solar-eclipse-day-110653804.html
4. https://www.cnet.com/science/planet-parade-on-june-3-get-ready-to-see-6-planets-line-up-in-the-sky/ Stellarium
5. https://www.cnet.com/science/planet-parade-on-june-3-get-ready-to-see-6-planets-line-up-in-the-sky/Stellarium
6. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/august-21-2017-solar-eclipse-4-planets-bright-stars/
7. Figure 6 picture credit [https://starwalk.space/en/infographics/planetary-alignment].
8. Fig. 7 (Imagecredit:JoeRao/StarryNight)https://www.space.com/stargazing/ watch-the-moon-hide-the-seven-sisters-of-the-pleiades-star-cluster-tonight
9. https://www.astronomy.com/observing/sky-this-month-january-2025/
10. Figure 8. Picture credit, Lunar Occultation of Mars, Jan. 13th, 2025. Earthsky.org
11. Figure 9 Picture Credit; https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-moon-venus-saturn/Jan. 30-31
12. Figure 10 Picture credit; [https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-see-jupiters-moons/] The Galileo spacecraft obtained the images to make this composite in 1996. Image via NASA Photojournal.
13. Figure 11 Picture Credit: Astronomy Magazine: Roen Kelly.
14. Figure 12 Picture Credit: Olympus Mons- Reddit
15. Figure 13 Picture credit: Jan. 7, 2025, 40 minutes before Sunrise to the Southeast. Astronomy Magazine: Roen Kelly.
16. Figure 14. The decan Of Coma in the Dendera Zodiac. Witness of the Stars, p. 34. E.W. Bullinger
17. THE HISTORICITY OF THE BIBLE; CHRONOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY and ARCHAEOASTRONOMY by Iurii Mosenkis
18/[1]. Dobin, J. Op. cit., p. 135. Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers, pp. 35-44, 66-67, and 450-467.
19/[2]. Seder Olam: A Rabbinic view of Biblical timeline, comment. by H. W. Guggenheimer, A Jason Aronson Book (Lanham etc., 2005), p. 48. 3 Stanley, Jean-Daniel; et al. (2003). “Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: Strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence”. Geoarchaeology 18 (3): 395–402 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.10065/ abstract;jsessionid=44A608E8ADEF474CDFADEAECC7F515BF.d03t03 ; Weiss, H; et al. (1993). “The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian Civilization”. Science 261 (5124): 995–1004 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/261/5124/995 ; Gibbons, Ann (1993). “How the Akkadian Empire Was Hung Out to Dry”. Science 261 (5124): 985; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4.2_kiloyear_event ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_environmental_events ; Chun Chang Huang; et al. (2011). ‘Extraordinary floods related to the climatic event at 4200 a BP on the Qishuihe River, middle reaches of the Yellow River, China’, Quaternary Science Reviews 30 (3–4): 460–468 ; http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/tilmari/tilmari2.htm#first ; the catastrophe of about 2200 BCE was related to India and Kenia, Нудельман Р. Библейская археология, Ростов-на- Дону: Феникс; Краснодар: Неоглори, 2008, с. 221–226

20/[2]. Its modern name of the Ancient Greek origin means ‘horned goat’, but initial Sumero-Babylonian constellation was ‘goat-fish’.
21/[3]. Its Greek name Hydrokhoos means ‘water-pourer’.
22/[4]. An Old Indian story of Manu, whose ship was led by the divine fish during the flood, may be related.
23/[5]. 2104 BCE, 2106 BCE, 2190 BCE, and the latter coincided with the solar eclipse.
24/[6]. So-called transition from the Subboreal period to the Subatlantic period, or the 4.2 kiloyear event / Bond event 3 about 2200 BCE.
25/[7]. Stanley, Jean-Daniel; et al. (2003). “Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: Strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence“. Geoarchaeology 18 (3): 395–402,
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.10065/abstract;jsessionid=44A608E8ADEF474CDFADEAECC7F515BF.d03t03 ; Weiss, H; et al. (1993). “The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian Civilization”. Science 261 (5124): 995–1004,
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/261/5124/995 ; Gibbons, Ann (1993). “How the Akkadian Empire Was Hung Out to Dry”. Science 261 (5124): 985; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4.2_kiloyear_event ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_environmental_events ; Chun Chang Huang; et al. (2011). ‘Extraordinary floods related to the climatic event at 4200 a BP on the Qishuihe River, middle reaches of the Yellow River, China’, Quaternary Science Reviews 30 (3–4): 460–468 ; http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/tilmari/tilmari2.htm#first ; the catastrophe of about 2200 BCE was related to India and Kenia, Нудельман Р. Библейская археология, Ростов-на-Дону: Феникс; Краснодар: Неоглори, 2008, с. 221–226.
26/[8]. It was a brief (only ~ 20 yr) and extreme ‘dry-spike’ in the Dongge Cave in China, Weninger, B. Forecasting societal change due to climate variability, p. 4, https://ecip.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/weningerb_abstract.pdf
27/[9]. The Cry about the destroying of Sumer and Ur, lines 75–76, comments: Rohl, D., p. 247.
28/[10]. ‘In the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 58b), the Pleiades represent cosmic frost, combatting Orion’s cosmic heat, and the “sluices of heaven” in the story of the Deluge were opened by pulling two stars from the Pleiads’, Seder Olam: The Rabbinic view of Biblical chronology, comment. by H. W. Guggenheimer, A Jason Aronson Book (Lanham etc., 2005), p. 48.
29/[1]. Spirit (rū^ah.) of God was moving (the root rh.f ‘to soar’ related to rh.m ‘to hatch’) over the surface of the water’ (Gen. 1:1–2).
30/[1]. Hebrew rū^ah. ‘breath, soul, wind’, Ugaritic rh, rh. ‘id’ (О Балу, с. 413), cf. Sumerian EN.LIL ‘lord of wind’.
31/[2] Hebrew t^ehōm ‘abyss’ or ‘ocean’ (Abb. 3:10; Ps. 42:8, see: О Балу: Угаритские поэтические сказания, с. 358), Akkadian tâmtu ‘sea’ and Tiamat ‘sea monster as an embodiment of primordial chaos’.
32/[3] The name of Leviathan is a cognate of Ugaritic Lotan or Lawtan (who fights Baal Hadad) and Greek (borrowed from Semitic) Ladon (Draco, via  Hyginus’ Astronomy); cf. also Biblical monsters Tannin (Gen. 1:21; Ps. 74:13, comments: О Балу, с. 157; the same word in Ex. 7:9 means ‘snake’, in Ez. 29:3 ‘crocodile’, in Is. 27:1 ‘sea creature’; Hebrew tannin means ‘snake’, ‘sea snake’, ‘sea beast’: О Балу, с. 363) and Rahab (Is. 51:9; Ps. 89:10), Ugaritic snake Tunnunu fighting Balu (О Балу, с. 19-20, 181–182).
33/[4] Bōhū is traditionally compared to βάαυ as a primordial creature of Phoenician cosmogony (Philo of Alexandria). Crocodile (Draco) is depicted on the back of the Egyptian hippopotamus-goddess Taurt (Ursa Minor). Cf. bhmtw as the designation of еру beast-shaped constellation in Qumranб Text I. 4Q 186.1: Тексты Кумрана, СПб., 1996, вып. 2, с. 264.
34/[5] Arabic Roc as Indian Garuda (which captures elephants and rhinoceroses) may also be Cygnus near Ursa Minor (behemoth in Egyptian mythology). The word rū^ah means ‘air’ and ‘wind’ in the Bible (Dobin, J., p. 215), and this word might be compared with Sum. En-lil, ‘god of wind’, as the lord of the northern sky; cf. also Eg. Shu, the god of air.
35/[1] The name of Eve (Ḥawwāh ‘living one’, possibly influenced by a Hurrian goddess Heba known as ‘the mother of all living’) may be associated with Aviv, another name of the first month Nisan (Ex. 12:2; 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut. 16:1). The word abib means the stage in the growth of grain when the seeds have reached full size and are filling with starch, but have not dried yet. Perhaps, Aviv may be the Canaanite name of Spica. Spica rises in the evening while Aries rises in the morning during the first month of the Hebrew calendar.
36/[1] reflected in the Cain-Abel story).
37/[2] The Egyptian influence on the post-Ghassulian early Bronze Age people was dated to the end of pre-Dynastic period and the time of the First Dynasty. 38/[3] Horus & Seth in pre-Dynastic Egypt may symbolize the Indo-European (proto-Indo-European *Her-, ‘bird, eagle’ > Egyptian [her] ‘Horus, the solar falcon’) and Semitic (Seth the son of Adam > Egyptian Seth the god of desert peoples.   

Welcome everyone to the December Blog! This month I’m posting my Teaching notes for the session Rev. Nessle invited me to teach on the 7 Hebrew Feasts, with our 2025 classes on TNT in 2025 in view. I’m very blessed and thankful to Rev. Nessle for the opportunity to teach tonight on the significance of the 7 OT Feasts and their relations to the Ministry of Christ. In the former ministry, the book Jesus Christ our Passover gave us a solid introduction to this topic, upon which we have added much to this evidence, even as we have seen recently with our updated understanding of Peter’s 6 denials. Still, many questions remain as to How does Jesus fulfill the OT Hebrew Feast Days? I’m excited to share some new information on this topic, that I believe will bless you!

The better we understand how Jesus fulfills the OT Feast and Holy days of Israel’s Calendar, so we will comprehend better the details of his earthly ministry. The Seven OT Feasts were appointed times set by God for His People to meet and fellowship with Him in His OT Tabernacle and Temple.

Fig. 1. Calendar of Hebrew Feasts. #1

These Seven Feast times are:

1. Passover; the Foundation [Leviticus 23:4-8]
2. The 7-day feast of Unleavened Bread   
3. Feast of First Fruits
4. Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks
5. Feast of Trumpets
6. Day of Atonement
7. Feast of Tabernacles

Fig. 2  Spring and Fall Feasts. #2

These Seven Feasts break down into two seasonal equinox periods; of the Spring Planting and the Fall Harvest times, marked by the spring Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles in the Fall. These periods are also embodied in Jesus’ two Advents on the Earth, seen in his birth and initial ministry to Israel entailing his perfect sacrifice as the Passover, Bread of Life, and his Resurrection as first fruits from the dead. These 3 feasts occur consecutively with Passover tied to the Crucifixion on Wednesday, Unleavened bread on Saturday, lasting for a week, tied to the Resurrection with First-fruits on Sunday linked to the Ascension. We will expand on these below…

The Passover Feast recalls the final plague before Israel was released from Egyptian Bondage, as the death angel “passed over” the nation of Israel who applied the blood of the Lamb to their doors. The Israelites dipped bundles of Hyssop into the blood in the basin at the threshold of their doors’ entrance, and going up they applied it to their lintels, touching the frames two sides, [Ex. 12]. Upon inspecting this imagery the form applied in this process made the shape of a Cross. Passover began on Wednesday the 14^th of Nisan, established by God on the Hebrew Calendar, when Israel left Egypt. Jesus Christ fulfilled this when John the Baptist seeing him, said Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, [Jn. 1:29]. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice paid it all for us!

These 7 Feasts correlate with 7 periods in Christ’s Ministry marked by Audible Words from Heaven.

1. 40 days of his Temptation where Jesus proved his Righteousness
2. As the Lamb of God, and Evangelist–Jesus Chose his Apostles
3. Jesus officially opened his ministry reading Isa. 61/Lk. 4 as an Apostle.
4. He was the High Priest on the Mount of Transfiguration/Tishri-30.
5. Jesus embodied the Passover Lamb in a voice from Heaven 1 week before his Crucifixion.
6. Jesus’s showed himself as First Fruits in his resurrected New Body for 40 days.
7. 10 days later Jesus Ascended his throne @ God’s Right Hand, on Pentecost.

In the NT, Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, was visited by Shepherds [Lk. 2:8-11], as foretold in the star observed by the Magi. Jacob prophesied over his 12 sons in Gen. 49, especially of Judah’s lion-Leo in vs. 8-10. Verse 9 tells of the 3 stages of the lion’s growth from whelp, or lion cub, to the couching adult lion, to the old lion- who shall rouse him up? Verse 10 tells us of the scepter [king-planet Jupiter –1 of 7 Gen. titles] in the first a triple union of Jupiter-Regulus in Leo on Sept. 14^th 3BC, 3 days after the birth of Christ on Sept. 11^th, 3BC. [add Gen. 49 notes/w Num. 24].  Rev. 12:1-3, tells us this in “a great wonder in heaven.”
The obvious astronomical links to this text made in “a woman clothed with the Sun and the Moon at her feet,” must refer to Virgo as the only female sign on the ecliptic of 12 zodiac signs. Also, this configuration of the Sun clothing Virgo only occurs during 20 days of the year in late Summer, and the Crescent New Moon in Sept. only took place only 1 day of the year, just after sunset on Sept. 11^th, in 3BC. [p. 71]#3 The clincher is which New Moon was this? The riveting answer is Tishri 1, 3BC on the Hebrew Calendar! Tishri 1 was Rosh Hashanah– Jewish New Year’s Day, a.k.a. the Day of Trumpets in the Feast of Trumpets, [Levi. 23:23-26]!

In the interim transition between these Spring and Fall seasons we have– 7 weeks leading into Pentecost- the Feast of weeks, after First Fruits. These Spring Feasts contain a powerful foreshadowing for the Fall Harvest feasts. As Jesus fulfilled the Spring festivals with the strongest and most powerful testament of laying down his life in perfect sacrifice as the Passover Lamb, not only for our redemption but also the decisive defeat of our spiritual adversary with his dark forces. So, with the same binding and endless impact that he enacted our enemy’s immutable demise, he has established our ever-lasting stand in the righteous authority of the power in his light. In a nutshell, with the same power that he fulfilled the first four feasts from Passover to Pentecost, so we can stand on this foundation in full assurance of the victory of his return, in the Autumn Feasts of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. The central theme of the Feast of Trumpets holy day is the enthronement of God and His great Kings. Judaism holds New Years Day- Rosh Hashanah not only as the Anniversary of Creation, but a renewal of it, and many other notable days coinciding in the partial list below;

The 1^st month, and the 1^st day of the Month not only was; New Years Day but also commemorated;

* 1st Day of Creation
* Opened the Jewish Civil Year
* Noah’s Birthday [Gen. 8:13]
* The day the waters dried from Noah’s Flood [Gen. 8:13]
* The Day Moses set up the Tabernacle [Ex. 40:2]
* Sanctification of Cleansed Temple by Hezekiah, [2 Chron. 29:17]
* Going up of Ezra, [Ezra 7:9]
* Giving up strange wives, [Ezra 10:17]
* Offering a Bullock in Ezekiel’s future Temple, [Ezek. 45:18]
* New Birth for the Earth after Noah’s flood. [Rom. 8:19-23]
* Inauguration Day of many ancient Kings & rulers of Judah. [Thiele, ppg. 28, 31, 161, 163]
* Coronation of Kings Solomon, [I Kgs. 1:34], Jehu [2 Kgs. 9:13], Jehoash [2Kgs. 11:11]
* The “Last Trump” in 7-month series always sounded on New Moon Day. [Levi. 23:24, Num. 29:1]
* Last Trump of Jesus Coronation in [Rev. 11:15].
* Christ’s Return @ the Last Trump, [I Cor. 15:52, I Thess. 4:16]
* Even the Patriarch Joseph’s rise to kingship of the Grand Vizier in Egypt appears to coincide with New Years’ Day. [New Year’s Psalm Ps. 81, Gen. 41:40, as with Jesus in Rev. 11:15] #4

The references to the Last Trump above have a direct bearing on the NT Church in reference to our Gathering Together when Jesus returns to gather and unify his Church in the air, to take us to ever be with the Lord…

As God will exalt us! Now as we expand on these OT Hebrew Feast Days…

First the feast of Unleavened Bread is part of the first three Spring Feasts of the Lord (Passover, Unleavened Bread, & 1st-fruits) occurring close together. Passover on Wednesday, Unleavened Bread takes place the next (Saturday, and lasts for a week), and First-fruits takes place on Sunday.

Passover began on a Wednesday of the 1st month (14th of Nisan) on the Jewish calendar, which was established by God because this was when the Israelites left Egypt. This was a major feast that all male Jews were required to attend in Jerusalem at the temple. With Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, the judgment we deserve is allowed to pass over us. When we accept Christ, we accept the loving gift of a second chance — because of his death on the cross, we have a clean slate!

Also, 1 Cor. 5:7 clearly states that Jesus is the Passover Lamb: Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. In summary, the Passover points to the Messiah as our Passover Lamb whose blood was shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover, at the same time that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening.

2. Unleavened Bread Feast — [Levi. 23:6] This seven-day feast begins on the day after Passover (15th of Nisan) and lasts for a week (15th-21st of Nisan). In the haste of the Israelites to leave Egypt, there was no time to add leaven (yeast) to their bread. During this time, remembering the hardships in Egypt and how God freed them from captivity, the Jews eat nothing leavened.

Leaven often represents sin and decay in the Bible. Once incorporated, yeast becomes an inseparable part of the bread; the same is true for sin’s effect on our lives. Always the Jews sacrificed unblemished animals for a temporary atone-ment for sin.

Christ fulfills this since only the Messiah‘s the perfect, sinless sacrifice, could offer a permanent solution. The unleavened bread represents Jesus’ sinless life; he is the only perfect sacrifice for our sins. In John 6:35, Jesus boldly states that he is the bread of life. Not only does he remove our sins, He nourishes our souls! To summarize, the Unleavened Bread pointed to the Messiah’s sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ body in the grave for the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted was waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.

3. Feast of 1st Fruits [Leviticus 23:10] The Feast of First Fruits took place on the day after Unleavened Bread started (16th of Nisan), and is a harvest feast to thank & honor God for all He provided. Here the children of Israel celebrated what became a very important day. The priests sacrificed Passover lambs on the 14th day of Nisan, and the first day of Passover was the 15th. The Feast of First Fruits was celebrated the third day, the 16th of Nisan. Thus the first three feasts take place consecutively (with the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasting seven days). Passover is on Wednesday, and after 3 days and nights in the grave, the feast of Unleavened Bread started Saturday, & First-fruits on Sunday. Christ fulfills this “third-day” celebration the same day of Jesus’ resurrection from among the dead. In 1 Cor. 15:20, Paul refers to Jesus as the first fruits of the dead. He represents the first of the great harvest of souls, including us, who resurrect to eternal life because of the New Covenant in the Blood of Christ. (Lk 22:20).
​
​In summary, the First Fruits pointed to the Messiah’s resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in I Corinthians 15:20 as the “first fruits from the dead.”
​
4. Feast of Weeks or Pentecost — [Leviticus 23:16]
This feast takes place on the 7th day of the 3rd month, Sivan. This feast is the second of the three harvest feasts. It occurs exactly seven weeks after the Feast of First Fruits, called Pentecost, meaning “50 days.” Traditionally, people were expected to bring the first harvest of grain as an offering to the Lord, including two leavened loaves of bread. This was a major feast that all male Jews were required to attend in Jerusalem at the temple.

Christ’s fulfillment of God’s plan to save souls included more than the Jews. Through Jesus, this plan was revealed. In Matthew 9:37, Jesus tells his disciples that “the harvest is great, but the workers are few.” Then he put the plan into place: In Acts 1:4, he tells them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit.
​
That arrival was the day the Church was born — Pentecost — and the harvest began with 3,000 souls. The message spread to both Jews and Gentiles (the two leavened loaves of bread), extending the harvest to us!
​
In summary, the Feast of Pentecost — (Called Shavuot today), pointed to the great harvest of souls, both Jew and Gentile, that would come into the kingdom of God during the Church Age. The Church was actually established on this day when the Messiah poured out the Holy Spirit, and 3,000 souls responded to  Peter’s first proclamation of the Gospel.
​
Interval Between Spring and Fall Festivals
​
The long interval of three months between Harvest and Trumpets pointed to the current Church Age, a period of time that was kept as a mystery to the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament. That leaves us with the three fall feasts, which are yet to be fulfilled in the life and work of the Messiah. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ completed and literally fulfilled the first four feasts, and did so on the actual feast days, there is no doubt the last three feasts will also be fulfilled on their actual feast/holy days. We cannot be certain how they will be fulfilled, but they most assuredly will be, according to God’s perfect timing of His plan and His foreknowledge.

Fall Festivals
​
Similar to the first three Spring feasts, the Fall feasts take place one right after another. The Feast of Trumpets starts on the 1st day of the 7th month, Tishri, the Day of Atonement, the 10th day of Tishri, and the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) on the 15th – 22nd of Tishri.
​
5. Festival of Shouting (Trumpets) — [Leviticus 23:24]
This feast began on the 1st day of the 7th month, Tishri. In a beautiful notice,  God commands his people to rest. In this time, all regular work is outlawed, and men and women present a food offering to God. This feast lasts 10 days & begins with trumpet blasts to signal the time to prepare for the Day of Atonement Feast. Traditionally, it’s also referred to as the “Ten Days of Awe.”  Its a time to afflict your soul and engage in serious soul searching, along with a time of repentance, to get right with God.
​
In Leviticus 23:24, God commanded His people to gather and commemorate the decree with trumpet blasts. This is fulfilled in Christ when Jesus returns to gather together his saints, marked with the trumpet blast, for the time Jesus returns for his body & bride (1 Corinthians 15:52). Once he returns, there will be a wedding feast of celebration. Rev. 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” He’s preparing us to celebrate!
​
To summarize, the Feast of Trumpets (Called Rosh Hashana today), points to the Gathering Together when the Messiah will appear in the heavens to collect the Church of his Spiritual body of both Jews and Gentiles. This joyous union is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of trumpets, (I Thess. 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52).
​
6. Day of Atonement — [Leviticus 16, 23:26-32; Num. 29] This day was actually not a feast but a day of fasting.  Starting the 10th day of the 7th month, Tishri- To make “atonement” is to make restitution for wrongs committed. As a day of humility and repentance to God, it was a time for the Jews to get their hearts, consciences, and lives right before Him. This observance involved the sacrifice of animals as the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. The High Priest of the OT couldn’t offer more than an annual payment for their sins. However, hiding in plain sight was the promise of one who could atone for their sins permanently, (Hebrews 9:12).

This feast dealt with the sins of the entire nation of Israel, as a whole. Here the high priest would go inside the Holy of Holies (only once a year and on this day) to offer atonement for the sins of the entire nation. Christ embodies the animal sacrifice of the “scapegoat” who took on their sins (Leviticus 16:10). The scape-goat was burdened with all the sins of Israel and released into the wilderness.
​
​As a result of his illegal trials, the Jewish leaders condemned Jesus, and he  burdened with the sins of all mankind — was led out of the city to be crucified: “He himself is the sacrifice that atones not only for our sins, but the sins of the world,” (1 John 2:2).
​
The necessity of the Day of Atonement was rendered void by Jesus’ death on the cross — our debt has been paid once and for all!!
​
In summary, the Day Atonement (Called Yom Kippur today), points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the day of atonement for the Jewish remnant when they “look upon Him whom they have pierced,” repent of their sins and receive Him as their Messiah, (Zech. 12:10 and Rom. 11:1-6, 25-36).
​
7. Feast of Tabernacles or Booths — [Leviticus 23:34] This feast occurs on the 15th – 22nd days of the 7th month, Tishri. Celebration always follows the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates God’s provision and protection for the people of Israel during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. During the seven days of this feast, people live in temporary structures as they did in the wilderness. The Lord himself was with the Israelites in the desert, in a tented Temple called the Tabernacle, so the feast also celebrates his presence as he tabernacles (dwells) with us.

This was a major feast that all male Jews were required to attend in Jerusalem at the Temple. Because the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement were linked to this Feast of Booths, most Jews would arrive in Jerusalem to attend these three consecutive feasts. Just as Jesus is called Emmanuel, meaning “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23), so the only begotten Son of God came to tabernacle  with us, to dwell on this earth and offer himself as the perfect sacrifice. He was tempted like us, yet without sin, who utterly defeated our spiritual adversary, and in his return he has promised that there will be no more death or suffering, that he himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). His return is the final answer to the hope we’ve carried our entire lives. What a Day that will be!​
​
In summary, the Feast of Tabernacles (Called Sukkot today.) Points to the Lord’s promise that He will once again tabernacle with His people when he returns to reign over all the world from Jerusalem, (Micah 4:1-7).

A final note to summarize the astronomical signs marking Tishri 1 in 3 BC, that initiated the triple crowning of the King Star Regulus in Leo, by Jupiter – the king Planet, 3 days after Christ’s Birth on Sept. 11th 3, BC. This stellar pointer signifies the future Coronation of the King of Judah, the Promised Seed-Jesus Christ. With Sept. 11th as New Moon Day, Tishri 1 on the calendar of Israel, as we have already seen the importance of this “day of Trumpets,” Tishri 1-New Years Day!

Not only the first day of Creation and the renewal of it, as seen in the first day the waters dried from the earth in Noah’s flood, signifying a new start not only for our planet, but the entire human race- seen also in the 1st day Moses set up the wilderness Tabernacle for Israel, foretelling the day when Jesus would be tabernacled with the Church of his spiritual body of Jews & Gentiles at our Gathering unto him, as he returns to fulfill the fall feasts of this calendar. His Coronation foreshadowed in the Heavens, even as in the coronations and inaugurations of the Kings of Israel like Solomon, Jehu & Jehoash, so it will be in Last Trump of Jesus’ Coronation in [Rev. 11:15]. In the Coronation Psalm 81:2-5 below; We are instructed to rejoice–

Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
² Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
³ Blow up the trumpet in the New Moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. ⁴ For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. ⁵ This He ordained in Joseph for a testimony…

So too will we rejoice in the Lord as the trumpet of the Lord Shall sound and time shall be no more… on the Lord’s solemn feast day of trumpets in the New Moon, on the anniversary of the Birth of Christ, so Christ himself is seated at the Right Hand of the Almighty Father, as the Grand Vizier foreshadowed by Joseph in Egypt.

God’s Abundant Blessings to all this Holiday Season!

Footnotes

1. Fig. 1 picture credit [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/614811786611757734/]
2. Fig. 2 picture credit [https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2023/09/15/prepare-ye-the-way-the-jewish-high-holidays-feast-of-trumpets/]
3. Jesus Christ our Promised Seed, p, 71 American Christian Press.
4. The Star that Astonished the World, ppg. 196-199, Dr. Ernest Martin,
5. A Study from Diane Martinez on “Understanding the Old Testament Jewish Holy Days and How Jesus Fulfills Them,” was graciously provided as a key resource.

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome to the November 2024 blog! In this month’s study as we approach the traditional holiday Season, I have usually reserved this period for material pertaining to the Birth of Christ. Since this has always been a primary reason for the existence of this research blog and a major source of inspiration for its subject matter and contents. In the interests of accuracy, as new key info presents itself, my desire is to add it to what we have. Upon finding an article by Dwight Hutchison, which I’ve included a good portion as a framework of Babylonian chronology, for Christ’s birth, to compare and cross reference with a timeline of Bible truths, in agreement with what we find in “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.“#1 As a primary source advocating Christ’s birth in 3-2 BC, from a Biblical perspective, added value of material from Babylonian sources by Dwight Hutchison adds a unique and independent view to existing sources, that allows us to dig deeper into the history of this key period.

In the rise of ancient Babylon, king Nebuchadnezzar’s army prevailed over Judah; Israel’s southern kingdom in 604 BC, deporting many key people in the Babylonian Captivity. Among the exiles were a group of gifted, intelligent young men with their leader-Daniel. After his elevation arising from unveiling king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and accurately decoding it for him, Daniel was rewarded with a high position in Babylon’s royal court, including key political authority, where he was made chief over all wise men and Babylonian sooth-sayers & magicians. This was central to the narrative, placing Daniel and his friends in key positions to influence many of the royal decrees to come down, not only from Nebuchadnezzar, but most subsequent rulers including king Cyrus, during their lifetimes.

 As we have recently seen, the Babylonians were already renown in history for their study of the stars, both from a symbolic perspective and scientific view. Babylonian astronomy was most influential in the orient at the time of the Messiah’s birth. But with his team of gifted friends- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel’s rise brought a positive spiritual perspective to their work in light of the Messianic prophecies of Christ. Also, having the treasury of the cuneiform tablets-the Babylonian Star Diaries, at their disposal, these clay tablets supplied invaluable support in his work to identify and teach the Magi, the celestial signs to beware of in their search for the coming birth of Christ.

Daniel’s knowledge of the Gospel in the Stars not only enlightened his view of the OT Prophecies of Christ, but also provided key insight needed to teach the critical clues to the Zoroastrian Magi, whose monotheistic religion influenced King Cyrus, as one of the most enlightened leaders in history. As seen in the principles of the Cyrus Cylinder– his example of leadership was the first true model of diversity, that included successful rule over nations with different languages, belief systems and religions. Since a number of Persian Kings were of Zoroastrian Faith including Cyrus, this likely provided a source of religious tolerance exhibited in his rulership. Cyrus’ influence in ruling conquered nations impacted other kingdoms in history including the Roman Empire, who applied similar principles in their rule of conquered nations.

Daniel’s knowledge of the Gospel in the Stars was closer to the original, since  the initial revelation originally given, in OT Scripture was perverted in the practices of astrology and divination, much of which was rooted and further defrauded in Babylon. As in modern times, astrologers cast their horoscopes, while many held that the stars fatalistically controlled one’s destiny. Daniel, however, preserved the Tanakh, and developed his own order of scholar-disciples committed to his teaching, based on the truth of Scripture, not to include astrology or other kinds of divination, that were strictly forbidden in the Hebrew Scriptures. Daniel spent all his adult life in Babylon and later in Persia as a high official of the kings he served, while never wavering from his true service to the One true God. When Daniel was carried off in captivity to Babylon, it was a result of one of 27 sieges of Jerusalem and its Temple, the first destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, who burnt the Temple in 587-586 BC, [2 Chron. 36:17-20], the 2nd in 69-70 AD, by Titus and his Roman Legions who also burnt the Temple. In both cases Jerusalem lay desolate for the next 50 years on the Jubilee Calendar. Daniel had the occasion to interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar– of the large statue of four beasts in Daniel 7, where king Nebuchadnezzar was the first king of the first golden kingdom of Babylon, the golden head of this statue. It was Daniel’s privilege to also serve the King of the 2nd kingdom of Persia in this statue, of four kings who embodied the four beasts of the king’s dream. 

Daniel 7:17
These great beasts, which are four, {are} four kings, {which} shall arise out of the earth.

This was where the co-regent king Belshazzar hosted a big banquet, during which a hand appeared and wrote on the wall the words, “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.” Daniel was called to provide the interpretation that was, “God has numbered your days; you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; and your kingdom has been given over to the Medes and the Persians.”

That night the Medo-Persian army conquered the city, but Daniel was kept as a government minister. He also had several dreams, described in chapt. 8 – 12 of the book of Daniel, one of these dealt with the coming of Christ: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in ever-lasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” [Dan. 9:24-26, Zech. 9:9] We have a detailed study on this important prophecy in Daniel 9 in the preceding link that you can refer to for further analysis.

The above prophesy indicated that the Messiah would be “cut off” and “the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by armies of Roman General Titus in 70 AD, In addition to writing his account in the book named after him, Daniel had occasion to teach this information to his inner circle of adherents. Their descendants centuries later-the Magi, based on Daniel’s teachings, armed with the knowledge of Babylonian Astronomy and the records of their Star Diaries were not only enlightened of the General time when Jesus was to be born, but certainly equipped as scholars and genuine astronomers to discern the skies for the keys to track the timing and location of Christ’s birth. A set of celestial signs involving the King Planet Jupiter were given to them described in the Bible as a “star,” rooted in the OT Biblical prophecy: “I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob…”  Numbers 24:17

As Hutchison points out; “The only usage of the word “Magi” in the Greek Septuagint text of the Hebrew Scriptures is in the book of Daniel.#2/7 The Magi in Daniel’s context were almost certainly Mesopotamians,”#3 along with Daniel’s Jewish friends-captive with him in the Babylonian captivity.

Hutchison lists 7 points in his “Star Proposal“ to which we are in general agreement. However, when we extend the signs of Jupiter during this key historical period to include its series of Planetary conjunctions, massings and other related celestial signs, that the King Planet took part in, we find a broader frame of events & specific signs with detailed Messianic narratives emerging from this astronomical context. Hutchison goes on;

“In the early centuries of the Christian era, almost all of the Church Fathers believed that Jesus was born sometime during 3 or 2 BC, in the 41st or 42nd year of the reign of Augustus Caesar. A small minority of modern scholars believe that Jesus was born during 3-2 BC and that Herod the Great died in early 1 BC. [Count me among this minority…] This article adopts more or less the dates of the Church Fathers, [as No Christian Church Father dates the birth of Christ before 4 BC . p. 28 JCPS]#4  In addition, the oldest church traditions indicate that Jesus was conceived at or near Passover and was born in December or January. The ancient “Feast of the Annunciation” (Gabriel’s announcement to Mary) is still celebrated at Easter (Passover).”#5 [Gabriel’s announcement to to Mary was preceded by his announcement to Zacharias the father of John the Baptist, and Hebrew Priest who served in the Temple’s Course of Abia, in May–June of 4 BC, [Lk. 1:5, 19-25]. John was conceived in Elizabeth’s womb, Zacharias’ wife who were both descendants of Aaron the brother of Moses. ppg. 133-146, JCPS].#6 Since Elisabeth conceived in June of 4 BC, Gabriel’s announcement to Mary came in the 6th month of Elisabeth’s term [Lk. 1:26–38], in Dec. 4, BC, which puts the birth of Christ in Sept. 3 BC.

However, it may be that the skies hold keys for establishing more reliable general dates both for Jesus’s birth and Herod’s death.

The Star in the East-Identifiable Celestial Kingship Events in 3/2 BC. A key element in the star story involves the star in the “east.” It has become popular in recent decades to equate the phrase “saw the star in the east,” with an early morning first visibility of a planet, star, or comet as it emerges from the solar glare (a heliacal rising). The “heliacal rising” interpretation of the passage was first suggested by various northern European scholars about one hundred years ago.#7/22 Franz Boll (1867–1924), a philologist, was once regarded as the world’s foremost expert on ancient astrology. He rejected the “heliacal rising” translation. In reality, Matthew gives us a non-technical message; he was not an astronomer. However, we know that the Heliacal rising of planets was critical to Babylonian Astronomers as is evident from this citation from Ossendrijver; “In the last three centuries before Christ, Babylonian astronomers developed an advanced mathematical astronomy. In early 2016, Mathieu Ossendrijver, a researcher at the Humboldt University in Berlin, published a paper in the journal Science which describes one recently translated calculation tablet concerning Jupiter’s daily displacement. … Babylonian astronomers construed Jupiter’s displacement along the ecliptic during the first 60 days after its first appearance as the area of a trapezoid in time-velocity space. … These computations predate the use of similar techniques by medieval European scholars by at least 14 centuries. The “Oxford calculators” of the 14th century CE, who were centered at Merton College, Oxford, are credited with formulating the “Mertonian mean speed theorem” for the distance traveled by a uniformly accelerating body, corresponding to the modern formula s = t • (v 0 + v 1 )/2, where v 0 & v 1 are initial and final velocities.”#8/14

Ossendrijver goes on to say; “Various algorithms are attested in still-surviving Babylonian cuneiform documents for calculating the synodic phenomena of the moon, and all the visible planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.” 9/16

The Prophet Daniel was strategically placed by God as a top official under the rule and administrations of multiple kings, along with his friends and fellow Magi, as agents to ensure God’s plan would be enacted. The subject of this blog adopts a great portion from research done by Dwight Hutchison, in comparison with the research found in “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed,”
to uncover certain specifics and key missing details, not only on the history of the Magi, but also pertaining to the Prophet Daniel’s relations with King Cyrus, once Daniel was placed as head over the Magi in Babylon. I’ve included Mr. Hutchison’s research because, first I respect his work, and find it provides key details filling gaps from the Babylonian Astronomy and their celestial signs surrounding the Birth of our Lord and Savior-Jesus Christ. My comparison to the narrative found in “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed,” should provide a more detailed outline, on the celestial signs leading to and marking the birth of Christ that has been in dispute up to the present time. In Babylonian terms, there were two main royal “stars.” The first royal star of importance was the king planet, the so-called “white star” (Jupiter) MUL. BABBAR. MUL.BABBAR, the planet/star of Marduk, who was head of the Babylonian pantheon, linked with messages concerning the king of Akkad in the omen texts used throughout Babylonian history.#10/24

The second royal star was LUGAL, also called Sharru (both words mean “king”), which is Regulus in the constellation Leo. The constellation of the lion was also seen as being royal. Several constellations and planets are mentioned repeatedly in Assyrian royal correspondence with Mesopotamian astronomers in the seventh century BC. However, LUGAL (Regulus) was the only individual fixed star that seems to have had central importance to the astronomers who corresponded with the king.#11/25 Parthian rulers, who dominated Mesopotamia in the first century BC, issued coins containing a star with the crescent Moon (fig. 1).#12/26 The image on all the coins almost certainly stands for Regulus. It is probable that all of Matthew’s Magi carried with them coins with the images of Phraates IV and/or his son Phrataaces.

Figure 1. Coins containing a Star with the Crescent Moon issued by the Parthian rulers, who dominated Mesopotamia in the first century BC. #13

The symbol next emerges in the Parthian Empire, beginning with the coins of Phraates V (r. 2 BC – 4 AD). Here the star represented either the Zoroastrian divinity Mithra or the divinity Tishtrya. The case for Mithra is supported by the pseudo-Zoroastrian Pontus use of the star. The crescent likely corresponds with the goddess Anahita. The star and crescent became an emblem of the Parthian kings, adopted by the rulers of the Sassanian Empire as a sign of legitimacy. In the Sassanian period the star and crescent is shown with explicitly Zoroastrian elements.#14/27

Article

Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …In general Jupiter is a harbinger of plenty and peace, except in close connection with the Moon (except when eclipsed) when it portends the death of a king and strife in the land, unless it is identified with Mul.LUGAL (Regulus) in which case it brings long days to the king (SAA 8 283).#15/28

MUL.BABBAR and LUGAL in 3 and 2 BC 

What happened at the key moments of MUL.BABBAR’s 399-day synodic cycle?

Synodic Cycle Sign 1– MUL.BABBAR (Heliacal Rising of Jupiter)—Late July      3 BC. In the summer of 3 BC, when MUL.BABBAR first visibly rose out of the solar eastern glare with the Sun in its annual conjunction with LUGAL–[Regulus]. Babylonian Astronomers had ephemerides tables & procedure texts which could have indicated the position of the Sun in relation to LUGAL (fig. 3).#16/29 This union of  Jupiter and Regulus with the Sun, would have occurred between the June 12th, 3 BC Venus-Saturn conjunction in Taurus, and the Aug. 12th, 3 BC Jupiter–Venus union in Leo, a subsequent royal Bright and Morning Star solar conjunction in the Lion. This was the first of 3 Jupiter–Venus unions during this period.

The coincidence of the two events was unique. MUL.BABBAR was more or less in this exact position only every 83 years. Because of MUL.BABBAR’s orbit, the mornings of July 28 or 29 in 3 BC were the optimum times in all of Babylonian astronomical history for the coincidence of MUL.BABBAR/ Jupiter’s rising and the solar conjunction with LUGAL/Regulus (see statistics in the notes).#17/30

Every 12 years the planet Jupiter travels through the constellation Leo. Some incidents in Leo during the years 3 and 2 BC seem to be unique, notably the probable heliacal rising and setting of MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) during that year. The tabular measurements are for Hillah, Iraq (near ancient Babylon / Borsippa). The Babylonians understood that every 83 years Jupiter is basically positioned in the same location among the background stars. The solar conjunctions with Regulus are often spread over two days. A Babylonian measuring unit, the UŠ, was used to measure time/distances. It corresponds to about one degree/four minutes of time in modern terms. The optimum times for the heliacal rising of MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) while the Sun was in conjunction with LUGAL (Regulus). In ancient Babylonia, it would have taken about six minutes for the planet Jupiter to arrive at one degree above the horizon (Columns J + K ) because of the angle its rising. Over the centuries, MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) rose higher and higher in the morning sky during its 83 year cycle until the planet became visible when the sun was in conjunction with the “king star” LUGAL (Regulus) in 3 BC. A similar pattern played out with the heliacal settings. This seems to be a celestial marker for Jupiter–the King Star & Star of Bethlehem, that only became visible in union with Regulus at the birth of Christ, in 3 BC!! #17a

The Danish expert in ancient Mesopotamian astrology, Ulla Koch-Westenholz, gives some indication of the meaning of the presence of Jupiter and Regulus in relation to the Moon. This may explain why Parthian rulers had placed Regulus with the Crescent Moon on their coins. The presence of Jupiter was also a positive link to the Moon with Regulus. We have noted this in our brief history of Lunar occultations of Regulus.

Figure 2. Portrays the constellation Leo with the Crescent Moon just beside Regulus.

In the summer of 3 BC, when MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) first visibly rose out of the solar glare in the east, the sun was in its annual conjunction with LUGAL (Regulus). A monument, called the Lion Horoscope, found in funeral statuary at Mount Nemrut in southeast Turkey, is very similar to the coins (fig. 1).#18 The Monument portrays the constellation Leo with the Crescent Moon just beside Regulus. The royal house of Commagene, commanded the Monument, had historical links to all major royal dynasties in the region. Culturally, the Magi would have directly associated LUGAL and the Moon with kingship.

169 Volume 71, Number 3, September 2019 Dwight Hutchison

In Babylonian documents, the ideal rising time for MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) has been described. For example, on Nov. 8, 142 BC, the astronomical diary entry reads: “The 22nd of the month, MUL.BABBAR’s first appearance in Scorpius; it was small, the rising of MUL.BABBAR to sunrise: 11°30’” (11.5 uš =46 minutes).#19/31“Ideal first appearance on the 21st.” (at 10.5 uš = 42 min).

On August 21, 109 BC, we read: “MUL.BABBAR’s first appearance in Month V, Day 18, in Leo, rising of Jupiter to sunrise: 11 uš. Ideal first appearance on the 17th.” (The previous day, it would appear that the ideal timing was about 10 uš.)#20/32 The Almanac for the Seleucid Era year 150 in Month XII (see above) has MUL.BABBAR rising on March 24, 161 BC. From the sighting of the planet Jupiter to sunrise there were about 10 uš. The ideal rising in Leo seems to have been either 10 or 11 uš from the actual visual sighting of the planet to sunrise. #21/33
The planet would not normally have been visible for the first minutes after its rising above the horizon. However, a very bright planet like Jupiter should surely have been visible within two lunar diameters or less from the horizon (within 1° of the horizon). See Babylonian historical statistics in the notes.#22/34

Below are relevant facts for Jupiter’s 3 BC rising: July 28-29th, 3 BC, at Babylon.

Rising of MUL.BABBAR: 04:22:49 LMT (Local Mean Time) Sunrise: 05:07:23 LMT

Sun center from Regulus at sunrise: 0°31′ Rounding to the nearest minute, there were 44 minutes from Jupiter–MUL.BABBAR’s rising above the horizon to sunrise. If one removes one degree to take into account MUL.BABBAR’s invisibility toward the horizon, this leaves 40 minutes=10 uš. On this day the Sun was closer to Regulus than on July 29th. #23/35 

July 29, 3 BC, at Babylon-Rising of Jupiter–MUL.BABBAR: 04:19:55 LMT. Sunrise: 05:08:06 LMT Sun center from Regulus at sunrise: 0°40′Rounding to the nearest minute, there were 48 minutes from MUL.BABBAR’s rising above the horizon to sunrise. If one removes one degree to account for MUL.BABBAR’s invisibility toward the horizon, this leaves 44 minutes = 11 uš. The two dates fall within the optimum dates for Jupiter’s appearing according to Babylonian standards (statistics in the notes).#24/36

[Jupiter Station Chart in Fig. 4 below]

 The Babylonian astronomical data above denotes an emphasis on the King planet-Jupiter’s rising with the Sun in Leo, the lion [of Judah’s Hebrew tribe in [Gen. 49;8-10, Rev. 5:5] near the heart of the Lion-Regulus the King Star. This was celestial foreshadowing to the upcoming triple union of Jupiter and Regulus, starting on Sept. 14th, 3 BC, three days after the Birth of Christ on Sept. 11th 3, BC, or Tishri 1 on the Hebrew Calendar, New Years Day when all Hebrew kings counted the start of their kingly reigns, regardless of when they actually began.

Fig. 3. The First Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction marking Christ’s Birth. #25  

1.  

   The union of Jupiter and Regulus, starting on Sept. 14th, 3 BC, @ 4AM, three days after the Birth of Christ on Sept. 11th 3, BC, or Tishri 1 on the Hebrew Calendar. This is also a sign that I’ve referred to as the Celestial Sphinx; with the head of Virgo just above the horizon, linked to the lion body of Leo, as the Alpha-Omega signs of the Hebrew Mazzaroth/Zodiac, [Job 19: 23-25]. Ancient pagan astronomers in Babylon would have understood that some-thing symbolic had happened involving the king star and the king planet without any other data. The sun, known as Shamash in Babylon, was linked to justice and truth. The sun appears to have been a positive celestial object except when eclipsed. With the Bible’s first recorded appearance of “his star” in Matt. 2:2, it was “in the rising,” in late July-early Aug. of 3 BC. This is what the Magi referred to in Matt. 2:2 “we have seen his star in the east.” Ancient astronomers in the course of their regular observations always dated the star or planet’s first rising above the eastern horizon at dawn, called heliacal rising.”#26/37 

   Fig. 3a Virgo at Sunset on September 11th 3 BC.#26a 

   

   The scene on late in the day on Sept. 11, 3 BC or Tishri 1 on the Hebrew Calendar with the Sun half-set in Virgo with the Moon at her feet. This only occurs on a single day of the Year. The Sun Clothes Virgo for 20 days of the year in late Summer, but the Moon was at Virgo’s feet only on Sept. 11th/or Tishri 1-the Feast of Trumpets in 3 BC, and Virgo’s brightest star Spica on the celestial equator between the setting Sun and Moon on the horizon.
   A consistent note of interest regarding these signs bearing the celestial seal and signet of the Great Sphinx, is that most of these signs occur during the three-week annual period when the Sun is clothing Virgo, [Rev. 12:1].6 This is relevant due to its symbolism of the genuine exaltation of Mary, the woman most highly blessed among women, because she believed the words of the angel Gabriel when he told her she would bear the promised seed.This was their signal that the Messiah was born, at the 1st Jupiter–Regulus union, when they activated their plan for a Caravan to Jerusalem. So between July 29 and November 3rd, 3 BC there were astounding celestial signs and portents starting on Sept. 9-12, 3 BC Eta-Draconid Meteor Showers in Draco the Dragon, [Rev. 12:3-4] Sept. 11th actually marked the Birth of Christ itself that was then followed by the Sept. 14th, 3 BC, 1st Jupiter–Regulus conjunction in Leo. This was the first of three Jupiter–Regulus unions in Leo, which triple union of the King Star symbolized the crowning of Regulus with the King Planet Jupiter, in Fig. 4 below. The Feb. 17th, 2 BC Jupiter–Regulus union in Leo, was the 2nd union of this triple conjunction, while the May 8th, 2BC conjunction of this royal Jupiter–Regulus pair in Leo was the third. This signified the king planet Jupiter’s triple crowning of the King star Regulus,  in the near 9 months following the Birth of the Christ, on Sept. 11th, 3 BC.

   Fig. 4. Jupiter’s Triple Crowning of Regulus from Aug. 3 BC to Nov. 2 BC.#27

   

   Synodic Cycle Sign 2 MUL.BABBAR’s First Stationary Point— The end of November 3 BC, on the day MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) had reached its first stationary point in Leo, the Moon passed directly in front of LUGAL–(Regulus) in an Occultation (fig. 4). The royal symbolism is evident in that the Moon directly linked with the “king star” LUGAL, at the same moment of the king planet’s stationary point,#28/38 or first turning point seen on Nov. 29th in Figure 4 above, as Jupiter paused to change course in retrograde motion. Babylonian astronomers counted forward about four months from heliacal rising to resolve the second stationary point date of March 29th. They did not “eyeball” the station, Hutchison says, #29/39 but as we synchronize the dates of Jupiter’s motion from data in “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed,” we have a cross–reference verification of the data from the records of ancient Babylon!Counting about four months from July 28 or 29, we arrive in late November. The Babylonian dates were usually written with the first stationary point “around” a certain date in both their records and almanacs. The actual station was on the night of November 27/28. In one rough estimation, the coincidence of MUL.BABBAR/ Jupiter’s first station being in Leo at the same moment as a lunar occultation of LUGAL/ Regulus could only happen about once in about 2,750 years.#30/40 Other estimations are longer.On Nov. 26/27 in 3 BC, the Moon occulted Regulus. The coordination of Jupiter standing still in retrograde with this Regulus’ lunar occultation together is very rare, occurring only once about every 5,000+ years. This blocking of the light from the king star Regulus by the Moon, while Jupiter–the scepter of the righteous branch stood still in the heavens, embodies a link seen in Psalm 89:34-37, and Genesis 49.

   Genesis 49:8-10.
   ⁸ “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.  ⁹ Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

   Figure 5. Total Solar Eclipse on August 21st 2017.#31/Stellarium

   

   On January 20 in 2 BC, Jupiter rose just after sunset (Acronycal rising). During this key phase of Jupiter’s cycle, the full Moon occulted Regulus. This was a facsimile of the event previously in Nov. 3 BC. This lunar Occultation of the king star Regulus while Jupiter is standing still at sunset on the horizon, took place in the Hebrew month of Shevat, [our Jan./Feb.] a name which is taken from the Hebrew word for the ruler’s staff/scepter, [shebet], found in [Gen. 49:10, Num. 24:17, Ps. 45:6, H7626–scepter]. The “lawgiver from between his feet,” directly references to the king star Regulus in Leo.#32/41

   The second conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus occurred on February 17, 2 BC. Amazingly, the Moon was positioned during this exact time between the Jupiter–Regulus union. “At about 5 a.m., looking at the western horizon, an observer would have seen the Moon directly between Jupiter & Regulus. The Moon would have been occulting the star Regulus with the lower fifth of the Moon’s diameter. Then, on May 8/9, 2 B.C. (82 days later) the same conjunction occurred again. This time however, the Moon occulted Regulus by the top 1/5th of its diameter. The last conjunction would not have been seen in Palestine as the Moon was already below the horizon in the west, yet astronomers such as the Magi would have known what was happening.” #33

   After the planet’s three separate conjunctions with Regulus, the last two of which included Lunar occultations of Regulus, Jupiter then resumed its west-ward journey, as viewed by the Magi. On June 17, 2 BC. Jupiter had the rarest of  a spectacle of reunions with Venus. The two planets were a mere .04 degree from each other and they would have appeared to people on earth as a unified “double-star” which only the sharpest eyes would have been able to separate. As the final crowning point in the Crowning of Regulus by Jupiter, it was unique.  #34

   As Dr. Martin points out; “These celestial signs including Jupiter’s path, lead the Magi toward Jerusalem in their expectations of the arrival of the Messianic king. This dazzling June 17th, 2, BC Jupiter–Venus union, heralded an entrance of this foretold king when they were both morning stars about ten months prior, completed this introduction with an impressively rare evening star re-union.”#35 This eye–opening reunion also provided the celestial brackets surrounding this triple coronation of the new born King by Jupiter and Regulus was emphasized by another triple Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, first on Aug. 12th, 3BC, the 2nd and most spectacular was June 17th, 2, BC, followed by the 3rd just over a year later on Aug. 21st, 1 BC. But these were not the only Jupiter–Venus unions during this period, as there was a notable Massing of Planets in Leo of Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury, with Jupiter and Mars in conjunction. This union of the King Planet Jupiter with Mars–Michael the warrior Archangel showed the unity and protection of the angels of light with the Lord and Messiah-king, [Ps. 91:11-13]. This occurred on Aug. 27th, 2BC, followed the next day with the alignment of planets Jupiter, Venus and Mars with the Sun and Moon, on Aug. 28th, 2 BC. 

   Figure 4. MUL.BABBAR’s first station in Leo at the same moment as a lunar occultation of LUGAL.

   MUL.BABBAR’s Acronychal Rising—January 2 BC 170 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith–Synodic Cycle Sign 3.

   An acronychal rising of a planet or star is its last visible rising in the east just after sunset. Afterwards the object is already visible above the horizon in the eastern sky after sunset. The last visible acronychal rising was always several days before the true planetary opposition. It is impossible to actually see the planet rise above the horizon precisely at sunset. In another segment of the zodiac away from Leo, the Babylonians added 58 days to the date of the first stationary point to get the acronychal rising date for MUL.BABBAR (fig. 5).#36/40

   The planet’s actual opposition was on January 26 in 2 BC. But January 24/25,
   2 BC, was 58 days after Nov. 27/28, 3 BC (First Station). The acronychal rising was often listed at about the time of true opposition (see Late Babylonian Text—LBAT 1409).#37/41

   However, according to Swerdlow, Babylonian procedural methods indicate acronychal risings at either 5°, 6° or 2° from true opposition, depending on the method which was employed. The Babylonians usually listed the date of the acronychal rising as “around” a certain date. The Alcyone archaeo-astronomy application, using an “arcus visionis” approach, gives the acronychal rising date as January 20, 2 BC.#39/42

   January 20, 2 BC, could have been a possible candidate for MUL.BABBAR’s visible acronychal rising. Again, there was a clear connection to royalty through a simultaneous occultation and a possible Acronychal rising.

   Synodic Cycle Sign 4 MUL.BABBAR—Second Stationary Point—

   Late March [29th] 2 BC MUL.BABBAR’s second stationary phase was about four months after the first station. During its first and second stationary phase, the planet Jupiter is visually stationary for about two weeks. The Babylonians called the midpoint of that period the stationary point (fig. 6). Technically, Jupiter’s 2nd station was on March 29 in the Spring of 2 BC, [Fig. 4] The station was calculated from the acronychal rising or the first station. In this case, the planet stopped its motion about 2.4° west of Regulus.#40/43

   Article

   Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But … In the early evening on January 20, 2 BC, when seen from Babylon, the full Moon passed in front of LUGAL/Regulus again, making a second occultation in two months. [Figure 5. MUL.BABBAR’s/Jupiter’s visible acronychal rising.]

   On March 31st, MUL.BABBAR/Jupiter set in the west just moments before the
   Moon rose in the east. Minutes later, Regulus set as the Moon rose. Could this have been symbolically royal for Babylonian astronomers? Similar incidents involving simultaneous risings and settings of objects were occasionally mentioned in Babylonian astronomical records. They often spoke of “one god seeing another” when referring to similar incidents with the Sun and Moon. On March 31, 2 BC, the Moon could feasibly have been linked with Jupiter’s stationary phase.#41/44

   Figure 6. The stationary point of MUL.BABBAR.

   Synodic Cycle Sign 5-171 Volume 71, Number 3, September 2019
   MUL.BABBAR–Heliacal Setting—Late July, 2 BC When MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter)
   finally made its heliacal setting in the west at the end of the planetary cycle,
   the sun was again in conjunction with LUGAL (Regulus) in the constellation Leo (fig. 7). This would have been about four months from the second station event. The optimum last visibility of MUL.BABBAR seems to have been about 10 or 11 uš after sunset, (40 to 44 minutes after sunset).#42/45 If MUL.BABBAR was last visible at 1° above the horizon, it set six minutes later (47 – 6 = 41 minutes or 10.25 uš).

   Messianic Implications

   The events surrounding MUL.BABBAR’s setting in 2 BC give a near mirror image of the planet’s rising one year earlier. The Alcyone archaeo-astronomy application gives MUL.BABBAR’s last visibility on July 28, if arcus visionis altitudes are the following:

   (MUL.BABBAR: +1° / Sun: -7°16′).
   July 28, 2 BC, at Babylon. Sunset: 07:03:09 LMT #43/46
   Setting of MUL.BABBAR: 07:52:50 LMT
   Sun center from Regulus at sunset: 0°21′
   Sunset to MUL.BABBAR’s setting = 50 minutes
   If MUL.BABBAR was last visible at 1° above the horizon, it set six minutes later (50 – 6 = 44 minutes or 11 uš). July 29, 2 BC, at Babylon #44/47

   Sunset: 07:02:33 LMT #45/48

   Setting of MUL.BABBAR: 07:49:34 LMT
   Sun center from Regulus at sunset: 0°57′
   Sunset to MUL.BABBAR’s setting = 47 minutes

   Figure 7. MUL.BABBAR made its heliacal setting in the west at the end of the planetary cycle, while the Sun was in conjunction with LUGAL/Regulus in the constellation Leo.

    All the above incidents involved the Sun or Moon as well as MUL.BABBAR and LUGAL. From a Babylonian perspective, there were royal implications to the extended series of unique celestial signs. These events could have been easily associated with the arrival of a truly great king. But such a series of events, all centered on MUL.BABBAR’s synodic cycle, was unknown in their omen catalog. The Magi may have been surprised and questioning. But, from a Jewish view, these incidents could have also called to mind the Messiah. It would not have been impossible for pagan Babylonians to become familiar with Jewish concepts. The Jewish community was a large one in Mesopotamia in the first century BC. Aramaic was the common language in the region. Also, scholars and many others would have spoken Greek. The Greek Septuagint text of the Hebrew Scriptures was available for any who had questions about Jewish beliefs. At some point in Jewish history, the planet Jupiter came to be called “Sedeq” (Tzedek) meaning “righteousness.” The planet Jupiter probably was commonly referred to by this name by about AD 200.#46/49

   It may have even carried this name in much earlier generations. The Jewish Messiah was spoken of as the “Righteous One” by early Christians (Acts 3:14; 7:52; and 22:14, Ps. 89:35-37). This referred to the prophesied son of David, the righteous king of Jeremiah 23:5–6 and 33:14–17. Associating “Sedeq” with the king of the Jews would not have been difficult. The Jewish equivalent of LUGAL was the word “Melech” meaning “king.” One can see Messianic implications by linking two names Melech and Sedeq (the king of righteousness–Melchizedek). #47/50

   But in addition, LUGAL/Regulus in the lion constellation, evoked memories of Genesis 49:8–10 concerning the young lion of Judah [Rev. 5:5] and the rule of the Shiloh, [Jesus’ 7 Gen. titles] The Messianic text of Psalm 89 also mentions the heavens several times. In the later part of this Psalm we read;

   … I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me.

   It shall be established forever like the Moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful. (Ps. 89:35–37) 50 Here the enduring nature of the throne of David is associated directly with both the Sun and the Moon.

   Dwight Hutchison

   p. 172 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith

   Each of the five synodic events in 3 and 2 BC were linked with the sun and moon. In addition, remarkably, during two of the three conjunctions of MUL.BABBAR and LUGAL during this same cycle, the Moon was positioned just beside the two “stars” [Jupiter & Regulus] on February 17, 2 BC, and May 8, 2 BC (fig. 8).

   Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …p. 172 

   In addition, during the relatively spectacular conjunction which visually united MUL.BABBAR (Sedeq/Jupiter) and Dilbat (Venus) on June 17, 2 BC, the full Moon appeared in the east. The Jewish name of Dilbat is “Nogah,” meaning “brightness.” Sedeq and Nogah together evoke the “bright Righteous One” in the lion constellation beside the king star LUGAL/ Regulus (fig. 9).

   By themselves the five signs connected to MUL.BABBAR’s synodic cycle would have been enough to alert any Babylonian astronomer to the probability that something was happening concerning royalty. However, this series of events could have been supplemented by other celestial phenomena and symbolic associations.  [Figure 8. Moon positioned beside the two “stars.” Top: February 17, 2 BC; Bottom: May 8/9, 2 BC.] It may have been many months
   before the astronomers came to the conclusion that the unfolding series of celestial events had something to do with the Jewish Messiah. Before the Prophet Daniel’s arrival, the Babylonian Magi may have been complete pagans. However, the repeated and unique celestial signs, with Jewish prophecies and royal symbolism, apparently convinced them. A series of royal celestial signs all connected directly with the synodic cycle of MUL.BABBAR would have been completely unknown. Such a series is not found in the omen texts, but the royal nature of at least three or four of the synodic events is beyond dispute. Based on this series of unique events, one can affirm MUL.BABBAR (Sedeq/ Jupiter), during this unique planetary cycle in 3 and 2 BC became the Messiah’s Star.

   The Star in the West— Rethinking the Key Text

   Explanations of the Star of Bethlehem rise and fall based on Matthew 2:9 “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” (NKJV)

   As the Magi’s observations of Jupiter, from its initial heliacal rising back in their homeland, through its various formations and conjunctions that sent them on their trek to Jerusalem, now confirming their destination to Bethlehem on its approach of the Meridian above it, as seen in the graphic below pictured with the “L“ shaped Coma decan of Virgo, and the general sign of its Supernova shining brightly, visible to the naked eye.

   

   Figure 9. During the relatively spectacular conjunction which visually united MUL.BABBAR (Sedeq/Jupiter) and Dilbat (Venus) on June 17, 2 BC in the west, the full moon appeared in the east.

   173 Volume 71, Number 3, September 2019, p.173 

   In recent times, this passage has been interpreted to mean that the star went visually in front of the wise men from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The eastern church fathers thought that the wise men had visually followed the star all the way from where they had been in the East to Judea and then on to Bethlehem. However, these ideas may not be what Matthew had in mind. In fact, the traditional interpretation of the text of the star as a visual guide may be profoundly in error. There may be an alternate literal reading of the text which can avoid the intellectual, scientific, and mystical puzzles of the traditional reading. One way of understanding Matthew’s text would be to look at other passages in Matthew, which use the same keywords. Matthew uses the Greek verb, προάγω (proago), with the specific meaning of “to precede” or “to go ahead of,” in other passages in his gospel.#48/51 In Matthew 14:22, we read: “[Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead (προάγειν) of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away.” Jesus then goes up on a mountain to pray and later meets the disciples on the sea. Jesus was not visually following the disciples at any moment, but he had simply sent them on ahead of him.

   During the last supper, Jesus made the following statement: “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you (προάξω) to Galilee” (Matt. 26:32, see also Mark 14:28). After Jesus was raised from the dead, an angel appeared to some of his followers and said to them: “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you (προάγει) into Galilee, there you will see Him …” (Matt. 28:7, see also Mark 16:7).

   It is clear that the disciples did not follow Jesus visually to Galilee after the resurrection in the same sense that one usually thinks about the wise men following the star. The disciples arrived chronologically in Galilee after Jesus already had arrived there. Jesus had “preceded” them there. In like manner, the star was waiting for the wise men upon their arrival in Bethlehem, just as Jesus later was waiting for the disciples. The star preceded the Magi to Bethlehem, but not as a visual guide. Matthew 2:9 simply sends the reader back to the East before describing the event in the West.

   Bethlehem: A Possible Scenario

   While the wise men were in their homeland, the star MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter), in association with other celestial objects, gave several symbolic indications that a great king was certainly arising. The Magi took this as an announcement about the king’s birth. After having received the star’s message, the wise men went to Judea. At every moment during their expedition, the men journeyed during the daytime like normal travelers. The way to Judea was well known. They were not looking to the star for visual guidance because the star’s purpose had been to give a message. The star was a sign concerning the Messiah. It was not a guide. Over a period of months, MUL.BABBAR came to be positioned well above the men’s heads during a good portion of each night. In the days before the Magi arrived in Bethlehem, the star was near to the zenith in the night-time skies. The Magi thought that the star had delivered its royal message while the men had been in the East. They were not expecting any other sign in the West. But after their arrival in Bethlehem itself, the men suddenly realized that the star was again in a symbolically significant position “above the place where the child was” (fig. 10). Dwight Hutchison

   On the timeline presented here, the Magi would have unexpectedly arrived in Bethlehem in late December 2 BC. There would have been no reason that the men should have expected any other celestial signs. They never expected to arrive in Bethlehem. But considering their previous experience in the East, it’s not hard to imagine that Jupiter’s stationary point on December 28, 2 BC, could have been symbolically meaningful to them. Volume 71, Number 3, September 2019, p. 173#

   “The Magi’s journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem [after their meeting with Herod], had to occur between Sept. 11^th 3, BC, and Herod’s death some time prior to Passover in April of 1 BC. Furthermore, Herod chose to execute the children two years and under, based on the time of the star’s first rising, the time of which he had learned from the Magi when he privately conferred with them. Since the Star’s initial conjunction was Aug. 12^th 3 BC, what is recorded in Matt. 2:9 occurred between Sept. of 2 BC, and April of 1 BC, a
   7-month period.”
   According to astronomical calculations Jupiter was not visible crossing the Meridian, the “high point,” over Bethlehem from Sept. through November of 2 BC. During this time Jupiter was too close to the Sun to be visible when it reached Meridian. However, by Dec. 4^th of 2 BC, Jupiter became visible at the Meridian shortly before dawn. From Dec. 4^th till Herod’s death before Pass-over on April 8^th, Jupiter continued to visibly cross the meridian each night at a progressively earlier time. However, the eclipse that shortly preceded Herod’s death occurred Jan. 9, 1 BC. It was sometime during this five-week period, from Dec. 4^th, 2 BC, to Jan. 9, 1 BC that the Magi completed their trek from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and saw the star of Matt. 2:9. #49/52

   The sky picture that the Magi beheld in their approach to Bethlehem is found in the blog banner for last month as the header for that teaching. Since the star picture of Rev. 12 provides a stellar image that marked the birth of Christ on the eve of Sept. 11th, 3 BC, was visible in the pre-dawn sky of Sept. 12th, 3 BC. The Magi would have departed for Bethlehem from Jerusalem some time after Dec. 4th, 2 BC, as Jupiter was not visible crossing the Meridian over Bethlehem before then for at least the previous three months, so what is recorded in Matt. 2:9 occurred between Sept. of 2 BC and April of 1 BC.

   Figure 10. The star was in a symbolically significant position

   “above the place where the child was.”
   According to the text of “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed” the phrase “came and stood over” in Matt. 2:9 is notable. “Astronomically stars and planets are similar to the Sun in that they rise in the east and set in the west. They are also similar in that they will reach a high point in the sky relative to the observer. At this point it is on the Meridian [longitude] of the observer. During the day, the Sun reaches this point at noon. So the stars and planets in their courses rise in the east, at some point during the night they reach their highest point at Meridian. Since the Magi were travelling South from Jerusalem on their short 5 mile trip towards Bethlehem, Jupiter would appear to stand over Bethlehem. This is not a reference to Jupiter’s station or standstill, it merely reaches its apex at the Meridian of the observer, where it then appears to descend in the western sky. In Matt. 2:9, the word “stood” is “histemi” in the Greek meaning to stand as opposed to rise or fall. Since Jupiter was not visible crossing the Meridian over the high point in Bethlehem from Sept.-Nov. 2 BC, it did not become visible until Dec. 4th of 2 BC, shortly before dawn. From Dec. 4th till Herod’s death before Passover on April 8th, Jupiter continued to visibly cross this Meridian nightly, 4 minutes earlier each day. By Dec. 24th Jupiter crossed & stood at the highest point on Meridian, directly over Bethlehem @ 4:44AM, counted from [Paul Neugebauer-Sterntafeln, Leipsic, 1912] #50/53

   p.174 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith

   Matthew’s terminology about the star “standing over the place where the child was” is simply affirming that the star was present in the sky while the men were in the town, it having “preceded” them there. Matthew’s terminology about MUL.BABBAR’s “standing over” the town (and indeed all Judea in the latter part of the night) was not specifically an astronomical reference to the planet’s first station. 52

   However, in the context, MUL.BABBAR’s first station may have been symbolically significant celestial event for the Magi while the
   planet was located over Bethlehem. While a relatively unspectacular planetary station is not at all impressive for modern skeptics or believers, symbolically it would have recalled the Magi’s experience in the East. If MUL.BABBAR’s first station took place at the moment of their unexpected arrival in Bethlehem, the Magi certainly would have rejoiced, in that the planet’s station was a heavenly sign.

   Conclusion
   The Star of Bethlehem seems to have been connected to symbolic royal celestial events at the heart of Babylonian planetary science. The star was not discovered through the Babylonian omen catalog or their normal astrology. The star over Bethlehem was not spectacular. It was not necessary for the star to be overly luminous or visually remarkable. However, the star was symbolically significant. The wise men never followed the star any-where visually, but the star was waiting for them upon their arrival in Bethlehem. David’s throne will indeed be established for ages to come, even as the sun and the moon have endured for ages past. The witness in the sky is faithful (Ps. 89:34–37, Ps. 19). ☼ [The Celestial Gospel]

   The Jupiter Station Chart presented above is a primary purpose of this study, to add the Jupiter Stations from a Babylonian view from Hutchison, to the Fig. 4 info from “Jesus Christ our Passover.” This data together with a more complete picture of the Planetary conjunction, alignment and massing activity, with key eclipses allow us a more accurate picture and celestial context of the signs surrounding the Star of Bethlehem. As always, I welcome any and all questions and comments.

   God Bless!

   Rene’

   Summary

   Footnotes [postscript]
   The footnotes for this month’s blog are a combination of Notes from Dwight Hutchison’s Article on “Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …, and notes from “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed,” [JCPS]
   as a side-by-side comparison to enhance and fill in details from both works, to enlighten the field of this topic. I respect and commend Mr. Hutchison’s Article, especially the work on the dates of the Jupiter Stations from a Babylonian view, and how they fit with the Fig. 4 Chart on Jupiter’s Triple Crowning of Regulus from Aug. 3 BC to Nov. 2 BC. This represents the heart of this study, that charts the primary Celestial Signs surrounding the Birth of Christ that I have worked for 35+ years.

   1 “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, 1982, VP Wierwille.
   2/7 Daniel 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15.
   3. IBID
   4. “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, p. 28
   5. “Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …Dwight Hutchison
   6. “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, ppg. 133-146.
   7. Daniel 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15.
   8. Mathieu Ossendrijver et al., “Ancient Babylonian Astronomers Calculated Jupiter’s Position from the Area under a Time-Velocity Graph,” Science 351, no. 6272 (January 29, 2016): 482–84.
   9. IBID
   10./24. See the example from Reiner and Pingree, Babylonian Planetary Omens.
   11./25. Simo Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, Part II: Commentary and Appendices (University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2007), 420–22.
   12./26 Mithradates III and Orodes II ruled about 50 years before the birth of Christ. But Phraates IV (38–2 BC) and his son Phrataaces (2 BC–AD 4) ruled at the time of Jesus’s birth.
   13./ Used by permission from www.cngcoins.com
   14./27 See also the Coins section of the website www.parthia .com.
   15./28  Ulla Koch-Westenholz, Mesopotamian Astrology: An Intro- duction to Babylonian and Assyrian Celestial Divination (København, Denmark: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1995), 121.
   16./29 Otto Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1969), 121; Ossendrijver, Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy, 145; and Michael R. Molnar, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2013). It should be noted as well that Molnar’s entire star theory is built on invisible incidents which took place in the solar glare.
   17./30 Webpage https://buff.ly/2HNdDys provides an annotated bibliography of many star interpretations.
   17a. One can download a table with several recorded and estimated ideal risings of Jupiter at the following address: https://buff.ly/2XjTxTk.
   18./ [https:// https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Lion-horoscope-A-complete-copy-of-the-original-stele-as-found-donated-by-the_fig6_342235096]
   19./31 Abraham Sachs and Hermann Hunger, Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, Vol. III: Diaries from 164 BC to 61 BC: Texts and Plates (Wien, Germany: Ver- lag der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1996), 127. The eighth time is as follows: Jupiter rises (JR): 5:37:21; Sun rises (SR): 6:26:48. Difference = 50 minutes. Sighting took place at 1 US (50 minutes – 46 minutes = 4 minutes = 1 US). 46 minutes = 11.5 US. The seventh JR: 5:40:13/SR: 6:25:51. Difference 46 minutes = 11.5 US. Ideal at 10.5 US or 42 minutes.
   20./32 Ibid., 359. There is an error in the text. The dates should be the seventeenth and eighteenth of the fifth month, not the seventh and eighth. Earlier Jupiter was invisible, being only about 3 degrees from the sun.
   21./33 This seems to vary according to the planet’s position in the zodiac, the angle of the rising, etc.
   22./34 The sun and moon are typically about 30 minutes of arc in diameter. The planet could be seen at about 1 US above the horizon. One can download a table with several recorded and estimated ideal risings of Jupiter at the following address: https://buff.ly/2XjTxTk.
   23./35 The numbers in Babylonian “time/degrees” (uš) are for Al-Hillah, Iraq (near ancient Babylon).
   24./36 Sunrise is here defined as the lip of the sun crossing the horizon.
   25. “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, p. 45.
   26./37 “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, 1982.
   26a. Virgo at Sunset on September 11th 3 BC.#26a 
   Picture credit for Fig. 3a from “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, p. 71.
   27. IBID, p.61
   28./38 Ossendrijver, Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy, 251, 257. In one part of the zodiac, not including Leo, Jupiter’s station was calculated as 123 days from the heliacal rising. We no longer have the exact formula for the station in Leo.
   29./39 This rough statistical result is the least common multiple of the synodic period of Jupiter (11.86 years) and the lunar nodal period (18.6 years) = 11,029.8. But, also, the moon passes the ecliptic twice near Regulus in 18.6 years. Two stationary phases of Jupiter should fall in Leo every 11.86 years.
   30./40  Ossendrijver, Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy, 257. In their procedure texts, the Babylonians calculated syn- odic events differently according to Jupiter’s place in the zodiac.
   31./ Figure 5 picture credit from Stellarium Astronomical Software.
   32./41 Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets, 200–201.
   33./ [Askelm.com] Dr. Earnest Martin]
   34. “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, p. 48.
   35. [Askelm.com] Dr. Earnest Martin]
   36./40 Ossendrijver, Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy, 257. In their procedure texts, the Babylonians calculated syn- odic events differently according to Jupiter’s place in the zodiac
   37./41 Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets, 200–201.
   38./42 N. M. Swerdlow, “Acronychal Risings in Babylonian Planetary Theory,” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 54, no. 1 (1999): 61.
   39./43 Result of using the “default variable” settings assuming the planet was visible at 1° above the horizon. The planet was 4°18′ below the horizon when the sun was completely set. It was one degree above the horizon 30 minutes after sunset.
   40./44 For example, MUL.BABBAR’s settings in the cuneiform document LBAT 1409 in 147, 146, 144, and 143 BC indicate settings from about 9 uš or less to 11 uš (sunset to the set- ting of MUL.BABBAR). The setting dates are often much less precise than the rising dates. The word “about” a cer- tain date is often used in Babylonian documents.
   41./45 The numbers in Babylonian “time/degrees” (uš) are for Al-Hillah, Iraq (near ancient Babylon).
   42./46 Sunset is here defined as the top lip of the sun crossing below the horizon (sun completely hidden).
   43./47 The numbers in Babylonian “time/degrees” (uš) are for Al-Hillah, Iraq (near ancient Babylon).
   44./48 IBID #46
   45./49 Sedeq was the name used by Abba Arikka (AD 175–247), also called Rav or Rab. See “Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat,” www.come-and-hear.com/ shabbath/ shabbath _156.html#PARTa. (The reader should see Folio 156a and Shabbath 156b.)
   46./50 All Bible references unless otherwise indicated are from the New American Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1995).
   47./51 In judicial contexts, the verb προάγω (proago) can also mean “to lead” individuals before authorities. It is used repeatedly in this sense in the book of Acts (12:6; 16:30; and 25:26). 
   48./52 Babylonian documents often mention planets “standing” in particular locations during lunar and solar eclipses, meaning that the planet was present, it was located, or positioned in the sky during the event.
   49./53 “Jesus Christ our Promised Seed.” American Christian Press, p. 235, JCPS
   50./54 IBID, [Paul Neugebauer-Sterntafeln, Leipsic, 1912] [ppg. 235-7 JCPS]