Author: Rene Fretz

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

Eastern Light Through the Tabernacle [Part II.]

Eastern Light Through the Tabernacle [Part 2.]

Luke 1:11-17¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John the Baptist with Jesus — John Baptizing Jesus Christ

As we pick up the theme of Part 1 (Eastern Light through the tabernacle) of this study, we can see the Eastern light shining through the Tabernacle, from the Altar of Burnt Offerings in the outer court, to the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place, reaching the holiest of all in the Ark of the Covenant. Notably, the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Zacharias occurred during the time of the burning of incense in the Temple service, because Gabriel was seen standing at the right side of the altar of Incense. This location is special when we consider that Gabriel, the only angel recorded to enter the Tabernacle, announced the birth of John, who was the embodiment of this altar as the last prophet of the Old Testament. Even as this altar of incense lead from the east, to the Ark of the Covenant in the holiest of all, so the transitional ministry of John the Baptist would lead unto Christ. Even as the altar of incense would prepare the pilgrim for his offerings to the Heavenly Father, whose dwelling among His people was signified in the holy of the holies, so John would; “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” This sheds more light on the geometric structure of these two altars in the ground plan of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple as it is fulfilled in the New Testament. There is also an application to Jesus’ statement in Matt. 3:15 when he told John, while baptizing Jesus, this anointing would serve them so that they both could fulfill all righteousness together. With the water baptism administered by John as the anointing of Jesus, the Old Testament Temple hierarchy of priests was spiritually superseded with the arrival of the heir apparent to the High Priest. Jesus,’ whose coming was after the Order of Melchisedek, a priesthood not based on the sacrifice of bulls and goats, but the sinless body and perfect blood of Christ himself-the Passover lamb of God.

These events leading to the opening of Christ’s ministry to Israel, and perfect sacrifice for mankind, shed added light for us today, as we ready ourselves, a people prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we consider this material in light of end times prophecy, specifically the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, and the heavenly signs surrounding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, let’s look at 2 Chronicles to understand more about the east-west axis line in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple.

2 Chron. 5:11-14
11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: ¹² Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets: ¹³It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music and praised the LORD saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; ¹⁴So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

King Solomon obeyed the will of God by having the Ark of the Covenant brought into the Temple to dedicate it, during the Feast of Tabernacles, in the most sacred seventh month of Tishri. During this time: the trumpeters and 120 priests and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD…

With the victorious Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ foretold in the current Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we will see the Church of the Body of Christ, unified in Praise of God’s Glory as never before, even as the Priests, Levites and singers were unified as one in their musical praise of the Lord. These 120 priests sounded their trumpets, on the occasion of the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant from the Hebrew Tabernacle to the Temple during the holiest 7th month of the Feast of Tabernacles. During this Jubilee year of 2015, a Partial Lunar eclipse marks the Day of Trumpets, and the final Blood Moon of the 2015 Blood Moon Tetrad marks the Feast of Tabernacles.

As the priests, trumpeters and singers were in one accord, in making one sound in worship and praise to God the Creator upon the transfer of the Creator’s abode from the Tabernacle to the Temple, so the members of the body of Christ will be joined in rapturous unity with the Lord at the right hand of the Father in heaven. This record of the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle to the Temple is important because the Ark represented the presence of God among His people. In the Second Coming of Christ, the Almighty heavenly Father will truly dwell within the Church of Christ’s spiritual body as the embodiment of the Day of Atonement during the 7th month of Tishri. In this way the Fall feasts of the Hebrew Calendar are marked with Blood Moon Lunar and Solar Eclipses, on the Day of Trumpets-September 13th and the Feast of Tabernacles-on September 28th. The heavenly signs marking the feasts and holy days of Israel’s Spring Calendar in 2015 with a Total Solar Eclipse on March 20th/Nisan 1, and a Blood Moon Lunar eclipse 2 weeks later at Passover on April 4th. As the first Full Moon following the Spring Equinox, Passover will coincide with Easter in the Jubilee year of 2015. As we pointed out in our previous post, the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple were always oriented on the East-West Compass line, and the Four Cardinal directions of the compass. The God-given architectural plan for both the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple was designed to embody the framework of the divine structure of Creation in miniature, on the terrestrial level; [read more]. The East-west axis line through the Tabernacle is reflected in Figure A. below, in the black arrow pointing to the Tabernacle’s entrance. This view is supported in the following quote from Nigel Pinnock, who details some key elements in the pattern given by God to David:

The Tabernacle stood inside a court whose geometry was a double square [1 x 2 rectangle], 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide. Inside the double square enclosure was a triple square 30 cubits long and 10 cubits wide. Its walls were built of wooden planks 1.5 cubits wide by 10 cubits high, held in line by strong horizontal bars of wood. The whole structure was covered with skins sewn together in strips 30 cubits long by 4 cubits wide. The Tabernacle was placed in the court towards the west, but with its entrance oriented east-wards, so that according to Josephus: “when the Sun arose it might send its first rays upon it.” The interior of the Tabernacle was divided into two compartments, a scheme which was copied later in the Temple…The outer compartment called the Holy Place, was a double square 20 by 10 cubits, whilst the inner compartment, the Holy of Holies, comprised a single square. As the height of the Tabernacle’s ceiling was also 10 cubits, the Holy of Holies enclosure was thus a perfect cube (containing the Ark of the Covenant)….The Altar of Sacrifice was the outer equivalent of the Ark of the Covenant. It stood at the center of the outer of the two squares of the enclosure… This altar represented one of the two poles at the center of two squares-each upon its own center of polarity…The dimensions of the Temple, like the Tabernacle before it, were precisely detailed: [I Chronicles 28, II Chronicles 3]. A triple square double the size of the Tabernacle, and the walls of the Temple were hewn stone lined inside with wood overlaid with gold. The interior comprised a double square rectangular holy place, and a single square Holy of Holies. The interior was 20 cubits high, making the Holy of Holies again, a cubic enclosure. At the very center of the Holy of Holies stood the Ark of the Covenant which formerly had occupied the central point of the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle… The actual entrance to the Temple was 5 cubits wide, and opened from a porch which comprised two squares of 10 x 10 cubits. It was this porch which supported the two pillars….Jachin and Boaz.¹

Hebrew Tabernacle layout — Figure A. Hebrew Tabernacle Layout

The Biblical Astronomy of these ground plans of the Tabernacle and Temple of Israel depict the heavenly image of eastward access to God’s presence, via the High Priest’s annual ministry behind the veil, into the holiest of all. This veil separated the holy place from the holy of the holies, which only the High Priest could enter once a year, on the Day of Atonement to make the sacrifices atoning for the nation of Israel. The two altars at which these sacrifices were made are reflected in the heavens as the two celestial poles of the ecliptic and Equator. This is apropos since these altars are the centerpieces where man meets his maker on the Creator’s holy terms, according to the guidelines and Standards laid out in Scripture. As Pinnock states, regarding the brazen altar of burnt offering: “This altar represented one of the two poles at the center of two squares -each upon its own center of polarity….“¹⁰

Draco at the North Pole — Figure B. The Constellation Draco [Hevelius]

This terrestrial arrangement mirrors the Venn Diagram at the North Astronomical pole, [Figure B.]. These two altars depict the bipolar structure of the heavens, seen not only in the galactic poles of the two great celestial circles of the ecliptic and the Equator in northern skies, but also in their reflection in the Earth’s magnetic and geographic bipolar system. Within the common space shared between the poles of these two circles moving in opposite directions, lies the astronomical pole or Venn Diagram of the North Pole. The interplay between these galactic poles exhibits a precession of the poles, where the pole star has receded from Thuban of Draco, to Polaris of Ursa Minor, over the last five thousand years, as depicted above in Figure B. This gives us a deeper view of the precession of the poles, as the equatorial pole shifted from Thuban of Draco to Polaris of Ursa Minor over the past 5000 years, fulfilling the promise of the coming redeemer as the current pole star Polaris resides under the feet of Cepheus the Crowned King, [Eph. 1:20-22]. This celestial image of the King of kings enthroned in the Northern skies is realized and fulfilled in the victorious Second Coming of the Lord Christ Jesus.

The quote above from Pennick gives us an idea of how the original principles of “sacred geometry” are preserved in the dimensions and measures of the Tabernacle and Temple and the corresponding elements of their walls, furniture, columns, clothing, altars, orientation, and architecture. This divine celestial plan modeled in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, is the foundation of a “sacred geometry” adopted by Freemasons and others before them, who have tainted these concepts in the defiled context of mysticism, divorced from their authentic roots in the Astronomy of the Biblical Patriarchs. This study endeavors to return Biblical Astronomy to its genuine origins, dispensing with corrupt astrological influences and pagan mythology of various ancient cultures and secret societies. Figure A depicts the double square rectangle, containing the phi ratio, providing key aspects of both the pattern of the Tabernacle and Temple of Israel. [Heb. 8:5, Exod. 25:9, 40]

Figure C. Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple Layout

Jewish Tabernacle and Temple Layout — Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple Layout

The graphic below shows another view of the precession of the poles from the perspective of the interlocking wheels of the ecliptic and Equator, with the fish shaped lozenge of the vesica between them. This “vessel of the fish” is formed from the lozenge of these two interlocking circles, the center of each located on the perimeter of the other. Archimedes called the formula linked with this, the “Measure of the fish.” Its import to math and geometry was found in the ratio of its height to its length [153:265], and it’s representation of the nearest whole number approximation of the square root of 3, along with the controlling ratio of equilateral triangles.^11 .As a principle of terrestrial life, the inter-locking circles of this Venn Diagram represent “growth by division” as seen on the cellular level, when cells reproduce by splitting.

The Four Cardinal Points — Figure D. Christ the Crown of Creation at the center of the North Pole

The common area, of these two circles form a lozenge in the shape of a fish; -[icthus] whose top and bottom are formed at the intersection points of these two circles. A Straight line connecting these two points forms a base line for two equilateral triangles contained within the two circles. The formation of this line serves as the “controlling ratio of the equilateral triangles,” since it sets the standard equal measure of all 3 lines in the triangle. This provides a basis from which we can explore genuine aspects of the Creator’s application of mathematics and geometry in His structure and order the Biblical Astronomy of Creation, according to the ruling base 60 standard of the precession of the equinoxes. The divine standard of geometry will differ widely from what has occurred with past associations in the mythology and mysticism of “sacred geometry,” or branches of secular mathematics, since it encompasses concepts outside of these realms.

Figure E. The Northern Astronomical Pole

celestial design of the heavens

This view powerfully depicts how the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple symbolize God’s structural design of the heavens, seen in their two altars, mirroring the two poles of the Northern Polar regions in the ecliptic and the Celestial Equator. This also agrees with many of the principles of the pattern of God’s Intelligent Design inherent in His Creation. Since the “pattern of the Tabernacle” contains the phi ratio also known as the “divine proportion” or the golden section we can see definitive Biblical evidence of a universally recognized standard of measure, as truly divine in origin, since the dimensions of these sacred architectural structures were given by revelation from God to Moses and King David. This idea is established in the truth that the Ark of the Covenant itself was also built on this same double square [1×2 rectangle] pattern of the Tabernacle based on the phi ratio; [Ex. 25:10] also found in the dimensions of the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid. The graphic above of the Northern Astronomical Pole depicts how the dynamic celestial equator, the second circle secular in nature, relates to both the civil calendar year and the earthly Equator as it is mirrored above into the heavens. The movement of this equatorial pole around the static pole of the ecliptic is what is known as the precession of the poles. The intersection points of the ecliptic and the Celestial Equator are called the equinoctial points, which we know as the equinox of the Spring and Fall, the opening seasonal days when the length of daylight is equal to the dark of night. On March 20th/Nisan 1 in this Jubilee year of 2015, the Spring Equinox is marked by a Total Solar eclipse dividing the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015. Thus the dawning light of the Sonrise of the Ages on this east-west axis line through the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, is being highlighted for us by these heavenly signs from the Hand of the Almighty, as never before.

A goal of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy is to adopt a fresh view of the archaeology of Biblical artifacts like the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, viewed through the principles of Biblical Astronomy. This allows us to glimpse new glories long hidden from the astrologers, empiricists, and naysayers, whose practices for too long have clouded the inherent grandeur of the Creator’s sacred architecture. The Biblical Astronomy of the sacred architecture of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple are the divine cornerstones supporting the foundational superstructure which encompasses the Heavens and Earth. By liberating these divine blueprints of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple from secular orientations that distort its original divine purity, new light can be shed upon the true Godly design and purpose hidden in these divine architectural plans. By allowing God’s Word to speak for itself in this important area, we introduce a fresh perspective to the field of Archaeo-Astronomy, emphasizing the liberating power of adopting a genuine Biblical perspective in this meaningful and comprehensive field of research.

The altar of Incense before the veil into the Holy of Holies, keeping the Ark of the Covenant is represented in the sacred pole of the ecliptic, around which the equatorial pole moves, both wheels, inter-locked in a Venn Diagram. In the Old Testament, The pillar of Fire by Night and Cloud by day, protected God’s people lighting their way through the darkness of this world. God’s personal presence was only accessible annually as the people obeyed the guidelines of the O.T. Law carried out by the High Priest, to cover their sins. The pattern of access from the east mentioned above, holds true not only for Solomon’s Temple of the Old Testament, but also remained for the rebuilt Temple referred to in Ezekiel 43, below. Let’s take a detailed look at how the Second Coming of Christ integrates this theme of eastern access in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple.

Ezekiel 43:1-5
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east: [2] And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. [3] And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. [4] And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. [5] So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

Like the eastern shepherd, Jesus Christ embodies Jehovah–Nissi: the redemptive name for God protecting His people, [Ps. 23:1].

The Door, or gate giving access to the holiest of all was covered by a veil. The veil of the Tabernacle, which hung on four pillars, separated the holy of the holies, the central pointof God’s presence among His people, from the holy place. Woven into the fabric of this linen veil, the Cherubim were depicted, the special class of angels who are always prominent in God’s throne-room. They are pictured as having four faces corresponding to the “four Cardinal Points” of the zodiac, ruling the four-corners or celestial pillars of heaven, as seen above in Figure D. [Numbers 24:7-9.]

The material presented here shows us a direct Biblical correlation, and a celestial reflection of the two altars of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, illustrating the bipolar structure of the Earth as it mirrors the galactic poles of the two great celestial circles of the ecliptic and the Equator in northern skies. The symbolism of the circle is heavenly, while the symbolism of the square is Earthly. When we overlay the celestial double circle of the galactic North Pole on the terrestrial double square of the Tabernacle’s layout, the 1 x 2 rectangle forming the midst of the Tabernacle’s court, conforms to the common area of the North polar Venn Diagram between these overlapping celestial circles. This depicts the Creator’s original plan of His Creation reflected on both the macro and micro levels, as seen in the blueprints of the Temple and the “pattern of theTabernacle” [Heb. 8:5, Exod. 25:9, 40] Only the true Creator could give the details of this Intelligently Designed Plan with such accuracy. Only the Almighty God is able to account for the work of His Hands with such a panoramic vista, encompassing everything from the largest to the smallest scale of Life in Creation. All of this is preserved in the fullness of its inherent glory in God’s Holy Word, so that it is undeniable even for the fool. For even fools know this cannot originate by Chance, but only in the deliberate Intelligent Design and wisdom of the omnipotent foreknowledge of the Heavenly Father.
On the micro level, this structure is intended to symbolize God’s chosen dwelling place in the hearts and minds of the Church in Christ, showing man as the center of and reason for Creation, and the container and reflector of the Creator’s gift of holy spirit. In this sense Christ is the perfect and ideal man the exemplar and emblem of all Creation.

Footnotes

1. Sacred Geometry, Nigel Pinnock. ppg. 58-62

Eastern Light Through the Hebrew Tabernacle [Part I.]

Eastern Light Through the Hebrew Tabernacle [Part I.]

The Victorious Return of the Lord Jesus Christ will shine upon humanity like no other light before. This has been prophesied not only in Scripture, but also in the celestial epistles. A third package of divine revelation includes the sacred blueprints of the Hebrew Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temples beginning with King Solomon’s. A basic pattern emerges involving these plans for Israel’s Temple and Tabernacle as divine architectural expressions of the gospel of the Coming Redeemer-Jesus Christ, serving as a sacred architectural fulcrum between the witness of the stars and God’s written Scriptures. This is the subject of our current study in Biblical Astronomy as it relates to the glorious second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In our previous Blog post [read more] we focused on the Venus-Mars planetary conjunctions of 2015, and how they frame the crescendo of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015. We drew some comparisons to the heavenly signs surrounding the Birth of Christ in 3-2 BC, which we will pick-up again in this post. We find an important passage of Scripture to get us started in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:27-36

²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

²⁸For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken: ³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: ³³So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁴Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. ³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. ³⁶But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

As Matthew tells us in verse 27, the light of the Lord’s Second Coming will shine from the east to the west. It is known that the Temple was also constructed on this East-West axis, and that the light of sunrise would shine into the Temple’s doors between the great brass pillars at the Temple’s entrance, known as Jachin and Boaz. When we take into account the Solar Eclipse taking place on the Hebrew Feast and holy day-Nisan 1, the opening of the Ecclesiastical Year on the Spring Equinox, March 20th, 2015 along with a Solar eclipse on the Feast of Trumpets, Sept. 13th, 2015 opening the civil year within a week of the Fall Equinox, dividing the year according to these sacred days of the Hebrew Calendar, we can see the Almighty marking this east-west axis, as the Light of the Sun is eclipsed by the Moon on both key days. The truth that these heavenly signs occur during a Hebrew Jubilee Year, also opening on Nisan 1 makes it even more compelling, combined with Blood Moons on both Passover and the feast of Tabernacles, capping off the Blood Moon Tetrad in 2015. These Blood Moons of 2015 are the last ones to occur on Hebrew feast and holy days over the next 500 years. The temporal pattern of the Blood Moon Tetrads during the last 200 centuries of the Age of Grace have exhibited a septenary pattern of the Hebrew Feast and holy days seen in the Hebrew Calendar, reflected also in the Hebrew Menorah; [read more]. We can also see this pattern in other architectural elements of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple. The Jerusalem Temple Doors were framed by two huge brass pillars, called Jachin and Boaz, that are described in I Kings 7. We should notice the Biblical figure of speech pertaining to “many ands,” emphasizing each element found between the connective “and,” starting in verse 13;

1 Ki 7:13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.[14] He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. [15] For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

For greater details on the celestial and mathematical implications of the measurements of these two pillars please see our study on “Pi in the Sky” @try-god.com. [read more]

I Kings 7:16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: 17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

“checker”- *H7639 [sebakah]– This shows a lattice work around the capitals of these pillars. The etymology of the word Balustrade [set of small pillars supporting a handrail] is from the Italian “balaustro;” a wild pomegranate flower,¹ notable for its seven petals, as in the next verse. With each capital bearing seven chains of pomegranates totaling fourteen in all, the numerical symbolism of these pillars relates to the septenary blueprint of the Temple itself, comprised of 14 squares of 10 cubits each. We have seen prior evidence of the divine pattern of the number seven, as it highlights the temporal structure of the Creation week and the Feast of Weeks, [7×7 weeks] unto Pentecost in the 50th week. We also see the same pattern in 7×7 years, leading into the 50th year of Jubilee.

: Lilies and Pomegranates in the Hebrew Temple

1 Kings 7:18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

“pomegranates”- Gittith = Winepresses (related to the Autumn Feast of Tabernacles). Bullinger states regarding the biblical symbolism of this word: “There are three Psalms which have this word in their subscription; Pss.7, 80, 83. Gittith is from Gath, (Judg. 6:11, Neh. 13:15, Isa. 63:2, Lam. 1:15) “The word speaks of the fall, just as Shoshannim, [lilies] speaks of the spring. Hence Shoshannim, (flowers) is associated with the spring festival [Passover] just as Gittith (fruit of the vine) is associated with the autumn festival (Tabernacles). The Passover told of Jehovah’s goodness in Divine redemption; the Feast of Tabernacles told of Jehovah’s goodness in Divine keeping.”²[emphasis mine]

1 Kings 7:19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

“Lily”-white flower in color, with a straight tubular trumpet shape, carrying a musical connotation, associated with the joyful praise of the day of trumpets. Shoshannim (Lilies, or the Spring Festival, Passover) This word is found in the subscription of two Psalms 44, 68… “as the spring and autumn were appropriately represented by flowers and fruit respectively, so lilies and winepresses were singled out from each. The Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles divided the year into two fairly equal parts; the former being the spring festival and the latter the fall…. lilies and pomegranates (spring flowers and autumn fruits) were everywhere seen in the Temple (I Kings 7:20-22), and the knops (or knobs) of flowers of Ex.25:31-34 were doubtless the globe-like pomegranates and lilies³. [emphasis mine]

Even as the Spring and Fall Equinoxes, highlighted on their Feasts and Holy Days in the Hebrew Calendar, mark the East-West Cardinal Directions as seen in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, so we see this emphasized in the heavenly signs surrounding the Biblical Astronomy of the Birth and Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This is detailed in the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions of 3-1 BC, marking the Birth of Jesus Christ. We have seen this with Jesus fulfilling the sufferings of his first appearance on earth in his ministry to Israel, with the heavenly signs of Revelation 12:1-4, marking the birth of the Messianic King. So we will also see these heavenly signs fulfilling the dual significance of Revelation 12:1-4, birthing the Messianic Kingdom in the glorious Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a series of Jupiter-Venus conjunctions that have already begun, which are an important element in the heavenly signs marking the glorious return of Jesus Christ, and they will mark the constellations of the eastern quarter of the Israelite encampment around the ancient Tabernacle of Israel in the wilderness, even as the heavenly signs surrounding the birth of Christ did.

Ancient Tabernacle of Israel — The Hebrew Tabernacle

In Exodus 28:33,34 and 39:25,26 we find a description of the robes of the High Priest, one of the threefold offices of Jesus Christ. An interesting feature of his garments was the globe-like pomegranates and lilies, around the hem of the High Priest’s ephod. The ephod was tied to the four-corners of his square breastplate, holding the 12 jewels associated with the twelve zodiacal signs, aligned to the four Cardinal Directions on the horizon. Thus, not only the architecture of the Temple, and Tabernacle contained the hidden zodiacal symbolism of the Hebrew calendar, but also the clothes of the High Priest, every detail of which was fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus Christ. The symbolism of the lilies and pomegranates seen in the temple architecture was also mirrored the two basic portions of the year, according to its civil and ecclesiastical divisions, that we have referenced above. Alfred Edersheim supports this view as follows:

“The division of the year into ecclesiastical, which commenced with the month Nisan (end of March or beginning of April), or about the spring equinox, and civil which commenced with the seventh month, or Tishri, corresponding to the autumn equinox, has by many likewise been supposed to have only originated after the return from Babylon. But the analogy of the twofold arrangement of weights, measures, and money into civil and sacred, and other notices seem against this view, and it is more likely that from the first the Jews distinguished the civil year, which began in Tishri from the ecclesiastical, which commenced in Nisan, from which month, as the first, all others were counted.“⁴

As the context of I Kings 7 continues, we find more details of the geometric structure and mathematical symbolism of the Temple, it’s furniture and services, in agreement with Edershiem’s views above.

God’s people are no longer dependent upon the sacrifices of bulls and goats by a High Priest that could only enter the presence of God in the Tabernacle once a year, but would have continual access to the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedek. As we have pointed out in other studies on our web-site, [read more] @www.try-god.com the planet Jupiter was known by the Hebrew name Sedeq, showing the relation of the planet Jupiter with the person and everlasting priesthood of Melchisedek. The Jews looked upon him (the Messiah) as the royal offspring of David “the Sedeq Branch” (Jer. 23:5 Jehovah-Tsidkenu). Further, the word Sedeq was associated with “Melek,“- (King), combined into “Melchisedek,” the Righteous King.⁵

Hebrews 7:11
If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

Heb 10:19 -20
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

This is consummated in the final Paradise Administration referred to in Revelation 21-22. We find this in the reference to Jesus Christ as the “no more curse” in Rev. 22:3, who healed the curse that was put upon man as a result the fall in Genesis 3:17.

Rev. 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

Rejection from Eden — The Way of the Tree of Life

Thus, the birth of the only begotten Son of God signaled the beginning of the end of this curse. In Genesis 3:24, after God rejected Adam and Eve from Paradise, He protected the Way of the Tree of Life on the east side of Eden, with the Cherubim’s fiery sword, until the redeemer could come to reactivate the way of salvation and eternal life with God, for humanity. This door ultimately lead to the altar of the holy of holies, (the Life) in the inner heart of God’s Sanctuary, in the holiest of all in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, containing the Ark of the Covenant.

The truths of Jesus as the Shepherd are vividly seen in three Psalms 22, 23 and 24, showing the sufferings and glory of the Lord. As the Prophet, the Good Shepherd gave his life not only for the sheep, but for the safe-keeping of all people who would come unto him [John 10:11]. As the High Priest and the Great Shepherd, he is the first, last and only door, the alpha and omega, which provides the way of access through his resurrection [Heb. 13:20] unto life, into the true spiritual fellowship with our Heavenly Father. As the King and Chief Shepherd, his victorious Second Coming will exhibit his final glory, coming as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, [I Pet. 5:4, Rev. 19:16].

Thus, like the eastern shepherd, Jesus Christ embodies Jehovah-Nissi: the redemptive name for Jehovah–God protecting His people, [Ps. 23:1].

The pattern of the east-west axis through the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple is also found in the order of heavenly signs surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. We find this in the pattern of three Jupiter-Venus Conjunctions, marking the birth of Christ that occurred from 3 to 1 BC. The first Jupiter-Venus Conjunction was in the final degree of Cancer, near its zero line border with Leo. The second was in fully in Leo, while the third was in Virgo. These three conjunctions in Cancer, Leo and Virgo represent the eastern quarter of the Hebrew zodiac, the heavenly image of the eastern side of the Israelite’s wilderness camp, the entrance or Way to the Door of the holy place (the truth) in the Hebrew Tabernacle. The temporal progression of these planetary conjunctions perfectly matches the divine pattern of Israel’s tribal arrangement on the eastern side of the Hebrew Tabernacle. Judah/Leo was due east of the entrance to the holy of the holies, via the holy place, centrally located between the other two eastern tribes of Issachar/Cancer and Zebulon/Virgo. These planetary unions surrounding the birth of Christ are fully detailed in my book on The Season of the Morning Star. This eastern door to the Hebrew Tabernacle represents the way, the truth, and the life, of John 14:6, which is embodied in Jesus Christ as the risen Son and light of the world, the door of the sheep, the Good Shepherd [Jn.10], the true way which leads unto life.

The Biblical Astronomy of the heavenly signs leading to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only follow the pattern set by the heavenly signs surrounding the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC, but they also conform to architectural structure of the Tabernacle we have already seen in the Tabernacle of Moses. The first Jupiter-Venus conjunction associated with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 took place in the Beehive cluster in the Sign of Cancer, on August 18th, 2014. There are multiple Jupiter-Venus Conjunctions set to take place in 2015, all in Leo, with additional Jupiter-Venus unions occurring in Virgo in 2016-17. The temporal progression of these planetary conjunctions again perfectly matches the divine pattern of Israel’s tribal arrangement on the eastern side of the Tabernacle, clearly marking the way for the Triumphant Second Coming of the Lord. The brilliant and effulgent light of the Sonrise of the Ages, with the dawning of the Sun of Righteousness, will be the sunburst of the Great Day of the Lord’s Second Coming, when the Daystar arises in our hearts; [II Pet. 1:19].

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance,James Strong [#H7639]
2. Companion Bible, E.W Bullinger App. 65, IV.
3. IBID, XXI.
4. The Temple, Alfred Edersheim, p. 158
5. The Star that Astonished the World, Earnest Martin, p. 58

Biblical Astronomy of the Venus-Mars Conjunctions of 2015

Birth of Jesus Christ — Biblical Astronomy of the Birth of Christ

Biblical Astronomy of the Venus-Mars Conjunctions of 2015.

The Biblical Astronomy of the Venus-Mars Conjunction of February 22, 2015 is a unique heavenly sign, the first of two Venus-Mars conjunctions in 2015. The first Venus-Mars union from Feb. 21-22 in Pisces, presages the Spring Equinox on March 20th/Nisan 1, while the second Venus-Mars conjunction occurs November 3rd, 2015 in Virgo. As we stated in our previous post, the Total Solar Eclipse on Nisan 1, opens the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew Calendar on the Spring Equinox, even as the Partial Solar Eclipse marks the opening of the civil year on Hebrew New Years, Sept. 13, 2015 and the Feast of Trumpets.

Even as Jesus fulfilled the Spring Hebrew Feast and Holy days, from Passover through Pentecost in his first appearance on Earth, and his ministry to Israel, so we can expect him to fulfill the Fall feasts and holy days of the Hebrew calendar in his victorious return. We can see this in Christ’s ministry as Prophet, Priest and King because as he embodied the one-time perfect sacrifice for Israel as the Passover Lamb, so he also took on the duties of the High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, whose eternal priesthood has permanently replaced the Aaronic Priesthood, with the sacrifices of bulls and goats. These duties were highlighted by the sufferings of Christ as he laid down his life not only for Israel, but for all mankind. The fall feasts however reflect his majestic glory and the inception of his Millennial reign on earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, returning to vanquish all his foes, installing his everlasting Kingdom of Righteousness.

We find this conjunction of Venus-Mars on Feb. 21-22, located on the ecliptic almost at the point where the Sun will mark the Spring Equinox in the following month, on March 20th. This directs our attention to the opening of an important Jubilee year on the Hebrew Calendar, on March 20th/Nisan 1 with a Total Solar Eclipse. Having this Sabbatical year marked not only by planetary conjunctions, but also with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, certainly distinguishes the Biblical Astronomy this Sabbatical year above many others in the eyes of the Almighty. These two Venus -Mars conjunctions of 2015 effectively frame the crescendo of the Blood Moon Tetrad in 2015, between Feb. 21-22 and Nov. 3rd. This reminds me of some similar heavenly signs involving Venus and Mars that surrounded the Biblical Astronomy of the birth of Christ. Between the March 31st, 2 BC Venus-Mars-Saturn conjunction and the Venus-Mars union of 12-9–2 BC some key heavenly signs surrounding the birth of Christ enlightened the heavens. The following segment of my DVD presentation on the Biblical Astronomy of the Birth and Return of Jesus Christ, details some of these heavenly signs for us.

For the complete story on these heavenly signs and the Biblical Astronomy surrounding the birth and return of Jesus Christ, you can order your copy of this DVD from our bookstore. [read more]

As we saw in our Biblical Astronomy DVD presentation, the June 17th, 2 BC conjunction of the King Planet Jupiter and Venus the bright and Morning Star was a key heavenly sign marking the birth of Christ. The fact that there were two Venus-Mars conjunctions bracketing this Jupiter-Venus conjunction, between March 31st, 2BC and Dec. 9th, 2BC, should alone arrest our attention. But when we add the fact that the greatest portion of heavenly signs marking the birth of Jesus Christ in 3-1BC were also bracketed by two Jupiter-Venus conjunctions, really causes us to stand up and take notice. The first Jupiter-Venus Conjunction took place on August 31st 3BC, in Leo with the last one occurring on August 21st 1BC, in Virgo.

As the main heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ are summarized in the Alpha-Omega signs of the Biblical Zodiac–Virgo and Leo, we see the signs of the celestial Sphinx emphasized once again. For more details on this topic, please refer to my study on the Biblical Archaeo-astronomy of the Great Sphinx @www.try-god.com. [read more]

Since the Venus-Mars conjunctions of 2015 bracket the crescendo of the Blood Moon Tetrad in the Sabbatical year of 2015, we see Venus-the bright and Morning Star unified with Mars, signifying the Warrior Archangel Michael, emphasized in their battle joined against the forces of darkness. Even as the Dragon attempted to take out the promised seed of Israel, Jesus Christ at his birth, so the persecution of Israel has continued, as the series of Blood Moon Tetrads has witnessed over the last 200 centuries. Ever since the prophecy of the Promised Seed first took place in [Genesis 3:14-15] spiritual warfare has been waged [Rev. 12:7] between the forces of Light and Darkness, coming to points of crisis as seen in the dual fulfillment of [Revelation 12:1-4].

The blood moon of April 15 passes over the winged figure of victory gracing the cenotaph at Queens Park in Maryborough. — Archangel’s Sword and the Blood Moon

As we have already seen, the dual fulfillment of [Rev. 12:1-4] is witnessed in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the Spring feasts and holy days as the embodiment of the Passover Lamb in his ministry to Israel. The glory of the Lord is seen in his fulfilling of the Fall feasts and holy days in his victorious return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The events playing out in today’s Middle East region surrounding Israel’s current war, is setting the stage for the end of days– the final events of human history leading up to the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the 2015 Blood Moon Tetrad concludes later this year, a key aspect of Joel’s Prophecy [Acts 2:20] will have been fulfilled before our eyes.

Acts 2:20 “The Sun shall be turned into darkness and the Moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord Come.”

It was not a coincidence the Apostle Peter quoted the words of Joel in the preamble of his Pentecost sermon; [Acts 2:17-20] opening the Age of Grace. This period of God’s awesome blessing which brought us the availability of the spiritual new birth, was kept secret by God since the World began, [Rom. 16:25-27, Eph. 3:2-7]. Now we stand at the precipice of the fulfillment of this wonderful Age, the end of which Peter prophesied at its inception, whose conclusion will witness the ultimate victory over the forces of darkness told in the heavens by these specific celestial signs. The series of partial/total solar eclipses on the Lord’s Feasts and holy days, along with the series of Blood Moon Tetrads leading to the concluding Blood Moons we are about to witness, including the first Blood Moon this year coming on April 4th in the Spring of this Jubilee year of 2015, initiates the completion of the set of preliminary heavenly signs that Joel prophesied would take place. Since there are no more Blood Moon Lunar or Solar eclipses scheduled to fall on Hebrew Feast days for the next 500 years, there has never been a time in human history where all the prophetic requirements leading to the End of Days has been in place like they are now. Joel told us these signs would occur “before the great and notable day of the Lord,” referring to the long-awaited return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Recognition of the specifics of how the second fulfilling of [Rev. 12:1-4] comes to pass, along with the key planetary conjunctions and other heavenly signs, involved in the completion of this scenario, will tell the tale of the Biblical Astronomy of the End of Days, as we countdown to 2017.

The Total Solar Eclipse of March 20th, 2015

The Total Solar Eclipse of March 20th, 2015

The Total Solar Eclipse on the first day of Spring and the Equinox is a central day, not only in the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, but also the Hebrew Calendar. This day marked by a Super-moon Total Solar Eclipse falls on Nisan 1 as the first day of the Hebrew Ecclesiastical year, is mirrored in the Fall with another Solar eclipse falling on New Years and the Feast of Trumpets on 9-13-2015. These two key days divide the Hebrew Calendar in half since this fall feast marks the start of the civil year for Israel. When we consider that 2015 is a Jubilee/Shemmitah year for Israel, we find a powerful emphasis placed on the holy days of 2015 by the Hand of the Almighty, with the capping of the Blood Moon Tetrad in 2014-2015. These two Solar eclipses falling on Hebrew feast and holy days in the Jubilee year of 2015, not only represent a perfect division of the Hebrew Calendar according to Nisan 1 and the feast of Trumpets, but also in the case of the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse falling on the Spring Equinox, we see an emphasis on the division of Day and Night, because the Spring and Fall equinoxes divide the length of the day and night equally. We can see important references in this light, and evidence of the Almighty Creator working in the Creation record of Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

In verses 4-5 above, The Creator-God instituted an initial act of division on the first Day of Creation, by separating and distinguishing between the light of Day and the darkness of Night. It is very important to note that God did this not only prior to the two great lights of the Sun and Moon being created on the fourth day, but even before the firmament, or the expanse of the Universe holding the celestial bodies was created on the second day! Thus only the Creator Himself could have been the Source of Light prior to the creation of these celestial bodies, since as verse 3 tells us; He Alone was in the Beginning, as the Source of Light and Life in the Heavens and Earth He created. Another basic division we can see is found in the Creation of Heaven and Earth itself, since the Heavens above the firmament, also called “Heaven of the Heavens,” are set aside as a dwelling for the Creator, while the earth is set aside for His creation.

Genesis 1:6-8
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

The Creation of the firmament of heaven was a secondary act of basic division by God, creating what we call the Universe, separated the waters above the firmament of heaven from those under or within the “Bubble Universe” that would contain the Sun, Moon and Stars, that did not appear till the fourth day. Obviously, the Biblical record of the Creation event does not agree with the scientific theory of “cosmic evolution” of stars and planets, but details an “ex-nihilo” Creation, where God spoke into existence that which had no prior existence. The Biblical definition of “Creation” requires no raw materials to work with, which sets it apart from any scientific version of our origins that man has ever proposed.

Genesis 1:14-19
¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: ¹⁵And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Four Blood Moons — Blood Moon Tetrad Divided by the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse

The Creator God established His initial division of light from darkness on the first day, by creating the celestial bodies of the Sun, Moon and Stars ruling over the temporal world of days and nights in His Creation. This not only established the Creator’s Temporal order over His Creation, by spinning the heavenly bodies in their orbits God established the cycles and circadian rhythms of “days and years” ruling over the four kingdoms of life on earth, but it also witnessed to the celestial gospel of someone significant to come; the redeemer of mankind-Jesus Christ, who will set the fallen Creation back in order. A primary focus of this Blood Moon Blog has been the heavenly signs marking the victorious return of Christ, as seen in the Blood Moon Tetrads taking place on Hebrew feast and holy days over the last 200 centuries, as the “seasons” or seasonal festivals God set aside for man’s observance in Genesis 1:14. The graphic above depicts another important division in the Jubilee year of 2015, dividing the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, with the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse on March 2oth. A Blood Moon Tetrad has been defined as four successive Total Lunar Eclipses, falling on Hebrew feast or holy days, without partial lunar eclipses interspersed between them. Also each Total Lunar Eclipse is divided by six lunar months on the Hebrew Calendar. When we include the Partial Solar Eclipse on the Feast of Trumpets this fall, then we have six Hebrew feast and holy days in 2015, where “the Sun is turned into darkness and the Moon into Blood,” as prophesied in [Joel 2:31].

Nisan 1/March 20th of 2015 is also unique because when the Sun sets, it marks not only the start of a new day, but also the dawning of the Jubilee and ecclesiastical year in Israel. This key day on the Hebrew Calendar is marked by sunset which opens a special Sabbath festival taking place between the Total Solar Eclipse and the Spring Equinox on March 20th. As we may recall from the previous post on our Try-God Blog; The Birthdate of Jesus Christ [read more], when opening his ministry to Israel during a Jubilee year, Jesus found the place in Isaiah’s scroll [Isa. 61:2], and he declared that time as the “acceptable year of the Lord,” in a 7-fold prophecy; (Lk. 4:18-21). Then Jesus stopped short in mid-sentence, and closed the book telling those present, that scripture in Isaiah had been fulfilled in their ears, because the next phrase of the prophecy is still future. The gap of time symbolized in the comma separating those two phrases, representing our current Age of Grace is rapidly nearing completion. As we are actively watching the heavenly signs associated with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, marking the time before the great and terrible day of the Lord, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to meet the Lord when he comes. This brief study has pointed out the following seven areas we have seen the Lord’s division in creation;

* Division of Light from Darkness
* Division of Day from Night
* Division of the Firmament
* Division of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 by the Total Solar Eclipse of 3-20-2015
* Division of the Hebrew Calendar
* Division of the Hebrew Jubilee
* Division of the Equinox

As we have seen the Lord’s division in Creation, so we will also see his division within the nation of Israel.

Matt. 25: 31-36
³¹“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy^[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Let us all be vigilant and on watch, doing the Lord’s work so that we can inherit the eternal blessing that he has set aside for the faithful.