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Is there Bible Evidence for an Eclipse with Jonah?

In our recently completed 2023 OT History Class we presented Biblical prophets chronologically instead of canonically, which brought out the evolution in the revelation regarding Messianic prophecy and Jewish Eschatology. Here are some samples of Rev. Nessle’s comments in a recent email from him:

From Jon’s Email 1/16/24

“Then in the Old Testament History class we followed the development of Messianic Prophecy when we re-ordered the Prophets in chronological order instead of canonical order. Then we clearly saw how Jonah foresaw the doom of Israel but shirked his responsibility to prophesy against Nineveh for fear that they might obey and not be destroyed. Well, God made sure the message was delivered on schedule even after Jonah had been dead for 3 days and 3 nights! God had to pull a rabbit out of a hat to get the job done, or better said, pull a prophet out of a fish! Why? Because He had an appointment to keep! God had to stay on schedule. They did repent because Rene Fretz pointed out the possibility that God also sent a coinciding sign of a Solar Eclipse. It went right over Nineveh that decade! I think it coincided! Wow!

Then after Jonah, came the prophet that didn’t deserve to be named because he shut up. He clammed up in fear of King Amaziah and stopped prophesying. He just spoke his mind afterward. This disqualified that prophet. The Bible does not name disqualified prophets! After that it was up to the next prophet, Amos, who was the lowest of the low, without pedigree, not of the school of the prophets, a former pig farmer who stood up and became enshrined as the prophet that wouldn’t shut up! He spoke the answer to the burning question of that day. If God promised the kingdom to David’s seed, how can that come to pass if the Assyrians are going to wipe us out? Then we saw the progression and growth of Jewish eschatology and Messianic prophecy that expanded from Amos’ seed through prophet after prophet, in chronological order, until it fully blossomed with Isaiah, who spoke so much Messianic prophecy that the book of Isaiah is said to be the 5^th Gospel!”

Jon Continued; “Well, that got me thinking and I realized something. I wondered if there was anything in the book of Jonah that could be linked with an eclipse. This was because it was very unusual that a foreign nation like Assyria with a different pagan religion would receive and repent to a message given by Jonah, an unknown prophet to them… I was thinking the Eclipse had to coincide. But how could I prove that? Then I realized that God did do just that! In Jonah 4:5 Jonah made a booth outside the city to see what would become of it. When he complained about the heat, God prepared a gourd that grew which gave him shade. I was looking for evidence of an eclipse which shaded the sun. Here in that very context is an allegory regarding
a gourd that does just that! Wow! I think there is a connection. Maybe if some of those verbs in verses 6 and 7 have astronomical overtones that would really nail it! I am thinking that this was an allegory to an eclipse, explained in terms an ancient man would understand. If God told Jonah the Astro-Physics details, he would not have understood. If this is true, then we have a fixed date for Jonah!” Love ya! Jon

This inspired email from Jon Nessle got me moving to delve into the text of Jonah, to see what the Scriptural details may tell us in support of an eclipse allegory. As we will see, there are verbs in this context having astronomical overtones, but it might help if they occurred on the same day, as the eclipse, since I’m not aware of eclipses lasting beyond a single day! With this in mind, lets take a look at the record of Jonah, with this evidence of an allegory like this in mind, too see if it stacks up.

Jonah’s story is unique since the record of most prophets entails their ministry and background, including the impact of their divine message and how their oracle and vision fits in the prophetic line of Israel, and Scriptural canon. Jonah’s record is different, since being a so-called “reluctant prophet,” it relates the details in this episode where a prophet tries to escape the Godly calling on his life, to cry against the wickedness of Nineveh, by detouring from Nineveh, hopping a slow boat in the opposite direction to the Spanish Riviera, [Tarshish]. As Jonah learns, its not smart to contradict the Almighty Creator, [Jon. 1:9] which put Jonah’s passage in jeopardy of shipwreck. Even the ship’s crew had the common sense to know this was a bad idea, [Jon. 1:10-16] and if any of this crew was not God-fearing before this voyage, none were left thereafter, [Jon. 1:15-16]. This fits with a theme of this book of the Bible, that God’s loving care extends not only to Israel, but the to the Gentile nations also! Jonah told the crew to cast him overboard, then he disclosed that he was the reason their ship was in danger, [Jon. 1:11-12]. God then sent a great fish to swallow Jonah, where he spent 3 days and nights in the belly of the fish. His prayer out of the fish’s belly-called the “belly of hell,” is the Hebrew word for the grave: [H7585-sheol]. #1 This was the same period Jesus spent in the heart of the earth after his death and crucifixion, [Matt. 12:40-41]. This tells us also that Jonah died during this period, until he recalled his prayer and commitment to God, who spoke to the fish to vomit Jonah out on dry land, [Jon. 2:10]. At this point, Jonah got what many of us in life need, his second chance to obey God’s calling on his life, to go to Nineveh and preach his message, [Jon. 3:1-4]

From my June blog in 2017; I referenced research on the impact of an eclipse over Nineveh that may have coincided with Jonah’s ministry, without going into much detail. “In 765 B.C, a plague broke out in Nineveh where even the king was not able to go out to war, as was custom. Next came a civil war and another plague!” The first plague referred to here occurred in 765 BC, followed by the civil war that started in 763, the same year as the eclipse.

“An archaeological find of cuneiform tablets was uncovered in the 19th century describing events in Nineveh. A famous eclipse mentioned in the tablets was known as the Bur-Sagale eclipse, which is verified by NASA as occurring on June 15, 763 BC. The path of totality passed very near Nineveh, which was located 4 mi. north of modern day Mosul and Erbil in Iraq. God declared the Sun and the Moon were for signs, and now the Ninevites saw evidence of God’s judgment coming even before Jonah’s arrival. When Jonah did show up, the Ninevites were ripe for repentance.” #2

Figure 1. The June 15th, 763 BC Bur-Sagale Eclipse over Nineveh. #3

Julian calendar does not include the year 0, so the year 1 BC[1] is followed by the year 1 AD. This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. All pages in this web site employ the astronomical numbering system for dates (they use the year 0). Years prior to the year 0 are represented by a negative sign [–]. Historians should note that there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and year -100 corresponds to 101 BC, etc. This adds a year to the date above making it June 15th, 763 BC. #4

NASA graphic showing the path of the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 BC. The eclipse would have been seen as total in the area between the blue lines. The site of ancient Nineveh (the city) is about four miles northeast of the center of the modern city of Mosul, Iraq; the province of Nineveh occupied a considerably larger territory. If this NASA reconstruction is correct, the eclipse would have been observed as only partial in the city, but total just a few miles further north. The fact that modern astronomical programs show the eclipse as only partial in the city itself has led some investigators to surmise that the eclipse mentioned as occurring in the eponym of Bur-Sagale was some other eclipse at another date. This is usually done to support alternative biblical chronologies that do not agree with the conventional interpretation of the Assyrian Eponym Canon (AEC). However, it is precisely in the 8th century BC that the AEC is most assured of being correct, because various copies of the AEC have been found that overlap this time, and these in turn overlap the reigns of the kings of Assyria and Babylon given in Ptolemy’s Canon, which begins in 747 BC. Map from NASA, #5

We know that the Prophet Jonah ministered during the reign of King Ashur-Dan III since the Bible mentions him in [2 Kings 14:23-5], placing his ministry during the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel. Since this solar eclipse was a most noteworthy highlight occurring in the reign of Ashur-Dan III, certain theologians suggest that the Bur-Sagle eclipse was a primary reason that the people of Nineveh were so ready to repent upon hearing Jonah’s message of judgment. “According to E.R. Thiele’s chronology, Jeroboam II was sole ruler of Israel between the years 782-753 BC, while Ashur-Dan III was king of Assyria between 772-755 BC.” #6 An aim of this study is to look for evidence of Jonah’s entry into Nineveh that may coincide with this eclipse.

Ashur-dan III’s reign was particularly difficult. Much of his reign was spent putting down revolts. These revolts were perhaps the result of the plague epidemics sweeping Assyria and the Bur-Sagale solar eclipse on 15 June 763 BC; both the epidemics and the eclipse could have been interpreted by the Assyrian populace as the gods withdrawing their divine support for Ashur-dan’s rule. The Assyrian empire had entered a period of decline, experiencing a plague in 765 BC, a peasant revolt from 763 to 759 BC, and a second plague in 759 BC. The Bur–Sagale eclipse, occurred in the midst of these troubled years, in 763 B.C. We don’t know the exact timing of Jonah’s visit to Nineveh, but we do know from the Biblical record that this was the time period during which he prophesied (2 Kings 14:25).

Jonah 3:3-4 tells us it took Jonah 3 days to navigate the streets of Nineveh to deliver his message of repentance, that Nineveh would be judged within 40 days, to change their ways, a biblical number symbolic for probation, as the 40 years Israel spent in the wilderness, and the 40 days of rain during Noah’s Flood. Not only the general population declared a fast [Jon. 3:5] but also the King published a decree enforcing a fast for both man and beast, to turn from their evil ways, God saw their change and repented the evil that He had previously pronounced, witholding His judgment.

If we fast forward to the celestial signs just before the birth of Christ, on August 12th, 3 BC, the first Jupiter-Venus union in Leo framing Christ’s birth occurred on Elul 1 on the Hebrew Calendar, opening a Season of Repentance. Jesus’ birth on Sept. 11th the month after this Aug. 12th union, on Tishri 1-Hebrew New Years Day, was followed by Yom Kippur on Tishri 10, or Sept. 19th that year, marked 40 days to the Day of Atonement, from Elul 1.

In the Great Sign of Revelation 12, a 400-day [40×10] link was found to Yom Kippur 2017 via a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on August 27, 2016. But, when we view the Pan-American Total Solar Eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, the eclipse was 40 days before Yom Kippur 2017, on Sept. 30th. Before the modern Hebrew Calendar, from Elul 1 till the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was 40 days, known as the “Season of Repentance.” The total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 begins this traditional 40-day Season of Repentance. The Season of Repentance is a call to repent before the Day of the Lord. Jewish tradition says those written in the Book of Life will be resurrected on the Feast of Trumpets. Elul is the month of repentance on the Jewish calendar, the time of turning in all the tithes to the storehouse. A month later, during the Days of Awe from Rosh Hashanah on Tishri 1 and Yom Kippur on Tishri 10, shows the record of celestial events marking Christ’s birth from Rev. 12.:1-2. A key chronological note to recognize here if viewed in isolation that if there was an eclipse that “coincided” with Jonah’s visit to Nineveh, it likely occurred by this time, or even to open the 40-day season of repentance, as Jonah prophesied in Nineveh. But there is also historical context to be aware of. “The eclipse was not the only calamity during Ashur-Dan’s reign. The AEC recounts a plague in 765, the eclipse and a revolt in the city of Ashur in 763, a revolt in Ashur again in 762, a revolt in Arrapha in 761 and 760, and a plague plus a revolt in the city of Guzana in 759. 758 BC was marked by a campaign against Guzana and then “peace in the land,” after which the king remained “in the land” for the next two years. Although there were military campaigns in 755, 754, 749, and 748, the AEC does not list any misfortune until the city of Calah revolted in 746 BC, the 9th year of Ashur-Dan’s brother and successor, Ashur-Nirari V. The Assyrians regarded plagues and eclipses as divine judgments for the whole land, #7 (Wiseman 1979: 44). The plague of 765, followed by a revolt and eclipse in 763 and then revolts in the following four years would only confirm in the mind of the Assyrians that they were under divine verdict. It is appealing to think that the “year of peace” in 758 and the lack of revolts and plagues in the following 11 years were a consequence of God’s mercy because of the repentance of the nation. If so, this could date Jonah’s visit at Nineveh to 759 or 758 BC.”#8

This view fits with God’s Grace and Mercy to acknowledge the repentance of the Ninevites, supported by the historical record. This is also why Jonah’s displeasure and great anger at God’s forgiveness of the Ninevites, shows how far out of line his thinking was in pronouncing judgment on God’s forgiveness, which was the goal of Jonah’s mission in the first place. This history probably is the best evidence that the eclipse may not have coincided with Jonah’s visit to Nineveh, but preceded it by 3-4 years, as we would expect the repentance of the city, to effect a change in their misfortune. The record in Jonah 4:4-11 is as follows;

⁴Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry? ⁵So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. ⁶And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. ⁷But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. ⁸And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. ⁹And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. ¹⁰Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: ¹¹And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

The word for “booth” in Jonah 4:5 is [H5521-cukkah; a temporary abode, hut or tent, as the booths the Feast of Tabernacles, Levi. 23:40-43, Deut. 16:30, Isa. 4:6]

It is important to point out here the three potential sources that Jonah had in this record to shade him from the sun’s intense heat. The word for “shadow” in vs. 5 and 6 are the same Hebrew word [H6738-tsel] lit. or fig. This is also the same Hebrew word used in [2 Kings 20:10-11, Isa. 38:8] for the astronomical shadow that went down 10 degrees in the miracle of Ahaz’ Sundial. E.W. Bullinger teaches this word for “shadow” in Jonah 4:5-6 [H6738-tsel] is the figure of speech called “paranomasia” or rhyming words, or the repetition of words similar in sound, but not necessarily in sense, [p.307, 317]. #9 In this potential allegory, the plant [gourd] ostensibly representing a solar eclipse, was stricken by the worm [Jon. 4:7] as it smote [H5221] the gourd to the end it withered, [H3001–yabesh]. Strong’s says “yabesh“ means to be ashamed, confused or disappointed, also to dry up or wither as herbage.” #10 A Biblical sample of this kind of language refers to a solar eclipse. In Isa. 24:23 we find this once again expressed by Bullinger as the figure “Antimereia” of the adjective the exchange of one part of speech for another. #11

Isa. 24:23 says;

²³Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously.

This seems to support the idea of the gourd as an allegory for a solar eclipse as it is found in this record. It also is possible that a solar eclipse may have been accompanied by the growth of the gourd, at the same time outlasting an eclipse– that normally only last a few minutes, to 3-5 hours, in a single day providing Jonah added relief from the Sun. This notion is supported by Jonah 4:7 dictated by the diurnal solar cycle when “the morning rose the next day.” an eclipse of the Sun is not historically known to last beyond a day, and with the lunar blockage of the sun completed the previous day, the gourd was not withered by the worm until the next day. With both the shading of the gourd and the Moon no longer stopping the sun, the sunlight beat [H5221]-same word as “smote” in v.7 which can be either lethal [90x] as the worm struck a lethal blow to the gourd, or a non-lethal blow; [Ex. 21:12, Josh. 10:26].

This is not only a personification, where in the Sun and Moon are given human qualities, but also the related figure of prosopopeia, when the absent are spoken of as present, the dead as alive, or anything is addressed as a person.#12 [p.861] This language is indicative of both solar and lunar eclipses when Sunlight is blocked by the Moon, or the Earth-shadow turns the lunar surface red-as with
a blood moon. This could have fulfilled an allegory in Jon. 4:6 where the Lord made a gourd to shadow over Jonah’s head to deliver [H5337–natsal] Jonah from his grief. This rhyming word with shadow, [H6738-tsel] in Jonah 4:5-6 shows the Lord’s potential act to deliver Jonah from the Sun’s intense heat by shading him with a solar eclipse, where the Moon blocks the sunlight either partially or totally. The sun’s unblocked heat combined with the intense east wind beat down on the Jonah’s head, that he fainted, and begged his death by sunstroke. Here we find two possible sources of shade over Jonah, so where is the 3rd? If we recall from Jon. 4:5 he built himself a booth, the kind of which is the same as those built by the Jews for the Feast of Tabernacles. During this feast the Jews honored God not only as their provider, but their deliverer also, just as God had done for Jonah with the fish. As Isa. 4:6 tells us;

⁶And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

The word for “shadow” in Isa. 4:6 above is the same as Jonah 4:5-6 [H6738]. This shows us that Jonah was angry at the loss of his shade, but God points out that Jonah was more concerned with the shade from the gourd and the eclipse than he was with the potential impact of the eclipse on the repentance of a city of 120,000 inhabitants in Nineveh. Jonah’s booth-building during the Tabernacles Feast, tells us these events took place in the month Tishri, our Sept.-Oct. and that Jonah also had his personal repentance to make right with God, for disobeying His call to preach to Nineveh. It also establishes the link pointed out above to the 40-days of Repentance and the birth of Christ, our intercessor and mediator of our repentance.

Added astronomically related verses in this context are found in Isaiah 40; 45:12, 34:4, Jer. 33:22, Dan. 8:10, Mt. 24:29]

Isa. 40:22-26

²¹Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? ²²It is
He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in: ²³That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. ²⁴Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, [H3001] and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. ²⁵To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth. [cp. Ps. 147:4]

This Scripture not only includes the astronomical context as the Almighty Creator stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in: but also the botanical allegory related to princes and judges of the earth that are not planted or sown, whose stock takes no root and they wither, which is the same Hebrew word for “withered” as seen in Jonah 4:7, above.

The purpose of Jonah’s prophecy is to show the sovereignty of God at work in the life of an individual (the prophet Jonah), and his concern for His own people and that the way to avert national catastrophe is a concentrated outreach effort to all people. Jonah’s theme is God’s mercy to the individual (Jonah, a Jew), a group (the heathen sailors), the heathen world power (Assyria, a Gentile nation), and His people (Israel).

Jesus employed the repentance of the Ninevites to rebuke the Pharisees, thereby illustrating the hardness of the Pharisees’ hearts and their lack of repentance, (Matt. 12:38-41; Luke 11:29-32). The heathen city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of a reluctant prophet, but the Pharisees would not repent at the preaching of the greatest of all the prophets, in spite of over-whelming evidence that He was actually their Lord and Messiah. Jonah is a picture of Israel, who was chosen and commissioned by God to be His witness (Isa. 43:10-12; 44:8), who rebelled against His will (Exodus 32:1-4; Judges 2:11-19; Ezek. 6:1-5; Mark 7:6-9), but like Israel, was miraculously preserved by God through centuries of exile and dispersion to finally preach His truth; (Jer. 30:11; 31:35-37; Hosea 3:3-5; Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1-3).

As Tom Hobson, chair of Biblical Studies at Morthland College, observes:

The Assyrian nation was weak and in chaos in the decade around 760 BC…. They had one earthquake (one sign of divine wrath). There was a famine from 765-758 BC. Assyria was losing battles and losing territory to its enemies. There were domestic riots… Now was a perfect time for a prophet from far away to arrive on the scene and command a response. Is it possible that in His mercy, God not only planned the miracles to engineer Jonah’s visit to correspond with an impressive eclipse, but He also spun the heavenly bodies in perfect synchronization with these events to help convince Nineveh to repent. #13

According to the Assyrian writings cited by Wiseman, here’s what a solar eclipse would have meant to them: “the king will be deposed and killed, and a worthless fellow will seize the throne…rain from heaven will flood the land…the city walls will be destroyed.” The Assyrians tell us that these times called for, a solemn fast, and the king would hand over his throne to a substitute until the danger passed. At least once when there was a total solar eclipse, the Assyrians cried, “Nineveh shall be overthrown!” This has dual meaning of, “Nineveh shall be made to repent!”).#14

We can’t prove the hypothesis that Jonah showed up in Nineveh for the 763 BC eclipse, but this does not mean that this solar eclipse did not help produce the desired results of Nineveh’s repentance recorded in the Biblical account.
God miraculously brought Jonah to preach his message at exactly the right time for the people of Nineveh to listen to him. The Assyrian nation was weak and in chaos in the decade around 760 BC. They already had one earthquake (a sign of divine wrath). There is a possibility that Amos also refers to this earth-quake [Amos 1:1] since Amos was a contemporary of Jonah. There was a 7-year famine from 765-758 BC. While the Assyrians were losing battles and land to their enemies, there was internal strife and domestic riots. With all the unrest they were experiencing, they seemed primed to believe Jonah and his warning.

With the events from 765 BC- a revolt and eclipse in 763 and then revolts in the following four years would only confirm in the mind of the Assyrians that they were under divine displeasure. It would fit the spiritual timeline that the “year of peace” in 758 and a lack of rebellions and plagues in the next 11 years were a consequence of God’s mercy because of the repentance of the Nineveh. If so, this could date Jonah’s appearance at Nineveh to 759 or 758 BC.

The repentance of an entire pagan city the size of Nineveh would be a greater miracle than for Jonah to survive getting swallowed by a fish. Yes, such an experience was fatal for Jonah, but this was part of the miracle, which was completed over 700 years later when Jesus cited Jonah as a sign comparable to his own resurrection. If we believe the Bible’s account of Jonah’s survival inside the fish, then a greater miracle of the repentance of the entire pagan city of Nineveh is possible also, since they are part of the same miraculous narrative.

I’m thankful for Jon Nessle’s email as the impetus for this month’s blog, and pertinent questions it sparked regarding Jonah and this eclipse. As the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of our own repentance, I invite those who would like to take part in commenting on this study for group discussion.

God Bless!

Rene’

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance, [H7585-sheol], James Strong
2. Read more at https://globalrumblings.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of.html#JF4HXT0ur7boJ0rM.99
3. Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses [Espenak & Meeus]
4. [http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=-07620615.]
5. [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendar.html]
6. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Edwin R. Thiele
7. THE TYNDALE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY LECTURE, 1977
JONAH 1 S NINEVEH By Donald J. Wiseman 1979: 44
8. https://biblearchaeology.org/research/biblical-chronologies/4517-how-lunar-and-solar-eclipses-shed-light-on-biblical-events
9. Figures of Speech used in the Bible, ppg. 307, 317. E.W. Bullinger
10. Strong’s Concordance, [H3001-yabesh], James Strong
11. Figures of Speech used in the Bible, pg. 495, E.W. Bullinger
12. IBID, [p.861]
13. (http://www.tyndalehouse.com/TynBul/Library/TynBull_1979_30_02_Wiseman_JonahsNineveh.pdf)
14. THE TYNDALE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY LECTURE, 1977
JONAH 1 S NINEVEH By Donald J. Wiseman 1979: 44

The Eclipse Menorah of 2014 to 2027.

Welcome to the November 2023 Blog everyone! This month’s study is a follow- up on the Oct. “Ring of Fire” study, with added insights relative to the recent Hamas attacks in Israel, in a recent historical context to shed added light on these events. We will look not only at Israel’s recent history of conflict with its Muslim neighbors, but also the astronomical history of this period, from Israel’s Independence, and reclamation of Jerusalem through recent/current celestial signs through 2034. The graphic below shows the a bird’s eye view of world eclipses from 2024 to 2034. The pattern of focus here concerns eclipses crossing in the USA, as their paths intersect the eclipses that are due to cross in the middle east from 2027-2034.

To show the true rarity of total solar eclipses, in a 20-year span, the 2017 USA eclipse “X” stands in similarity to the amazing “X” resulting in the Mideast eclipses (USA ring of Fire is not pictured). The symmetry of X’s in the USA
and Middle east Judgment eclipses are unique historically, as seen in the relationship between the Blood Moon Tetrads of 2014-2016 and 2033-2034.

Figure 1. Recent World Eclipses #1

An important aspect of this study is to understand what I’m terming as an Eclipse Menorah of 2014 to 2027. The Ends of an “Eclipse Menorah” seem to appear in the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad as they extend to the 2033-2034 Blood Moon Tetrad.

During the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we find the backdrop and context for the Northern Polar Eclipses that bracket the eclipse activity between the North Pole 3-20-2015 @ Spring Equinox during 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad- 2259 days from its Center Point Blood Moon on May, 26^th 2021. The other end of this Menorah of Eclipses is found in the 2033-2034 Blood Moon Tetrad, also with an Equinox Total Solar Eclipse on March 20th, 2034, likewise 2259 days from the center point eclipse on May, 26^th 2021. These eclipses are the outer extremes of this Menorah, but they do not “take place in a vacuum” or without context. Thus it is profitable to be aware of the historical context of the recent history of Israel to gain further insight into current events.

Total Solar Eclipse at the North Pole: 3-20-2015 on Spring Equinox.

During the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 Israel was involved in war with Hamas. The report below is from Wikipedia on July 19, 2014, during Israel’s third war against Hamas. A densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City was Shijaiyah, that the army said Hamas had transformed into a “terrorist fortress,” filled with tunnels, rocket launchers and booby traps. As Israeli forces pushed into Shijaiyah, a jumble of squat concrete buildings and narrow alleys, the army said militants unleashed a barrage of automatic gun-fire, anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. This Hamas terrorist assault against Israel in 2014 preceded the current invasion by nearly 9 years, that took place between the Passover and Sukkot Holy days marked by Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses on 4/15/2014 and 10/8/2014.

The battle came on the third day of a ground offensive that had been preceded by a 10-day air campaign. Then, as now, Palestinian civilians had been told to leave the neighborhood. Then, as now, many stayed, either because Hamas told them to or because they had nowhere else to go. Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an attack inside Israel over a month ago, on Oct. 7^th, 2023 killing hundreds while abducting 200+ hostages. An unprecedented border breach sent terrorists inside border communities to assault women and children with the families at a peaceful music fest, shocked Israel and its allies. The 2014 attack by Hamas described above, preceded the most recent and much more brutal incursion by Hamas over a month ago, on the 50-year anniversary of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. #2

April 15th, 2014 Opening Blood Moon of the 2014-2015 Tetrad

A key aspect of the opening the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad was the Mars-Spica triple conjunction in Virgo. This was based on the retrograde motion of Mars in Virgo’s womb, as seen above during which Mars passed the star Spica three times in Virgo, foreshadowing the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Spica in Virgo’s womb in 2017. The Mars-Spica triple conjunction in Virgo occurred as
a result of the 3rd Mars Retrograde in Virgo, seen above on the 1st Blood Moon of the Tetrad starting on Apr 15, 2014. This put the 1st Blood Moon of the Tetrad between the 2nd and 3rd Mars-Spica union. The dates of this Mars-Spica triple union in Virgo are as follows:

Mars-Spica #1: Feb 1st, 2014 in Virgo
Mars-Spica #2: March 27th, 2014 in Virgo
Mars-Spica #3: June 13th, 2014 in Virgo

The opening Blood Moon of the 2014-2015 Tetrad took place April 15th, 2014 marking the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. What is fascinating here is that Mars in retrograde not only marks the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrads, but also the previous two Blood Moon Tetrads in 1949-50 and 1967-68! In addition, the triple planetary conjunctions linked with the Mars’ retrograde also mark all three sets of modern Blood Moon Tetrads according to the pattern of the Celestial Sphinx–with signs in both Virgo and Leo as follows,
in a reverse timeline:

Mars-Spica #1: Jan. 20th, 1967 in Virgo
Mars-Spica #2: Apr. 20th, 1967 in Virgo
Mars-Spica #3: July 4th, 1967 in Virgo

The Second 1967 Mars-Spica union took place 4 days before Passover. Here Mars-Michael the warrior archangel stands strong in battle against the Muslim terrorist enemies of Israel, not only in the 6-day war, but also in the previous war for Israel’s Independence, as seen in the triple conjunction of Mars-Regulus in Leo in 1947-48′. Israeli defense forces [IDF] recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple Mount on June 7th, 1967, 6 weeks after the 2nd Mars-Spica union in Virgo.

The first modern Blood Moon Tetrad marking Israel’s Independence was highlighted by a Mars-Regulus Triple union in Leo as follows:

Mars-Regulus #1: Nov. 28th, 1947 in Leo
Mars-Regulus #2: Feb. 18th, 1948 in Leo
Mars-Regulus #3: May 19th, 1948 in Leo

Israel’s 70+ years as a State began in May, 1948. This was marked in the sky by a Mars-Regulus Triple union in Leo, along with the first of the modern Blood Moon Tetrads in 1949-50. The Third Mars-Regulus union took place 5 days after Israel’s Declaration of Independence on May 14th 1948. These 3 dates are all linked with a Mars retrograde, showing a history of Bible prophecy. The Retrograde of Mars started on March 10th, 1967 and moved into a visual sight alignment with the Star Spica of Virgo on Jan. 20th, April 20th and July 4th of 1967. During this period, Mars entered at the head of Virgo on Nov. 17th 1966, while moving in its regular motion on a parallel path to the ecliptic, until starting its retrograde just below Virgo’s knee on March 20th, 1967. With its reversal of motion, Mars came into its first visual alignment and conjunction with Spica, Jan. 20th, 1967, while Mars was in its retrograde loop return, it aligned with Spica again on April 20th, 1967. Finally, Mars ended retrograde, on May 28th, 1967 returning to its normal motion on Pentecost, June 5th, 1967- 2 days before Israel recaptured Jerusalem for the first time in over 2000 years!

As we consider the dates of the inception of Israel’s statehood in 1948, and it’s related 1948 borders, compared to when Israel recaptured Jerusalem in 1967, Israel’s land gains are notable. The biggest change to Israel’s frontiers in 1967, after the Six Day War left Israel holding the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and most of the Syrian Golan Heights – effectively tripling the size of territory under Israel’s control.

Israel’s declaration of Independence.

The first Mars retrograde marked the Mars-Regulus triple conjunction in 1947-1948. The closest Super-Moon since Jan. 31st, 2016 Super-Blood Moon fell between the 1st and 2nd Mars-Regulus union in Leo, on Jan. 26th, 1948. In view of the link to the 1948/eclipse comet and the forming of Israel’s state, we find an emphasis on the 70-year period from 1948-2018. The last 7 years of this period are highlighted by the Super-Moon/soli-lunar eclipse signs, while marking the Hebrew Jubilee of 5777.

The Third Mars-Regulus union took place 5 days after Israel’s Declaration of Independence on May 14^th, 1948. The 1948 Eclipse Comet appeared ahead of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 1949-50 near the eclipsed sun, as if the Sun was holding a sword. The comet’s position passing through Hydra-the Serpent destroyed, this sword was raised against the serpent-enemy persecuting Israel. As a prelude to the 1949-50 Blood Moon Tetrad, this Eclipse Comet brought attention to the luni-solar Eclipse Tetrads that would also occur in 1967-68, marking Israel’s re-taking of Jerusalem, along with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015.

The first Mars retrograde marked the first modern Blood Moon Tetrad in 1947-48 in Leo, with a Mars-Regulus triple conjunction. The following 2 Mars retrogrades marked the next 2 Blood Moon Tetrads in Virgo, in 1967 & 2014 with 2 sets of triple planetary conjunctions of Mars-Spica. Here we find an emphasis on the Alpha and Omega eclipses of the Hebrew Mazzaroth as seen
in the Celestial Sphinx signs leading to the replay of the Rev. 12 sign in Virgo.

On 19 June 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War, the Israeli government voted to return the Sinai to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for a permanent peace settlement and a demilitarization of the returned territories. #3 ^[75]^[76]^[77] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War]

On the Hebrew Jubilee calendar of 49 years [7×7] plus one year for the 50^th year of Jubilee, the Yom Kippur War, or “October War” took place in 1973. The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War,^[60] the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from 6th to Oct 25th 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most of the combat between the two sides took place in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights—both of which were reclaimed by Israel with fighting in African-Egypt and north Israel. ^[61]^[62]^[^page needed^]

Egypt’s initial objective in the war was to seize a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and subsequently leverage these gains to negotiate return of the rest of the Israeli-held Sinai Peninsula.^[63]^[64]^[65]^[66]The war began on October 6^th 1973, when the Arab coalition jointly launched a surprise attack against Israel, as the Arabs violated their previous treaty, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, that had occurred during the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in that year.^[67] The Yom Kippur War had far-reaching implications; the Arab world experienced humiliation in the lop-sided rout of the Egyptian–Syrian–Jordanian alliance in 1967. The Israelis recognized that there was no guarantee that they would always dominate the Arab states militarily, as they had done previously throughout the First, Second &
Third Arab–Israeli Wars; these changes paved the way for the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. At the 1978 Camp David Accords that followed the war, Israel returned the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, resulting in the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty, marking the first instance that an Arab country accepted
Israel as a legitimate state. During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, roughly half of Syria’s Golan Heights, and the territories of the West Bank which had been held by Jordan since 1948.^[74] #4

The current hostilities were initiated by Hamas on Oct. 7^th of 2023 on the 50^th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a seemingly planned assault designed to coincide with Israel’s holy days, as this history observes. This violence aligns with some notable celestial activity on the front end of this Menorah of Solar and Lunar signs over a 14–year period from the Spring Equinox Eclipse at the North pole on 3/20 2015, 2259 days from the Center point Super-Blood Moon Eclipse on May 26^th, 2021, to the Total Solar Eclipse on August 2^nd, 2027– also 2259 days after the central May 26^th, 2021 Eclipse! “This August 2^nd, 2027 sign crosses over the March 20^th, 2034 Total eclipse, intersecting Egypt over Luxor, also separated by a 2422-day span [7 Eclipse Years]. As the American Total eclipses from 2017-2024 also both occur on Mondays, and are separated by the same 2422-day span, with all four crossing lunar eclipse signs belonging to the same Eclipse type of family.” #5

These signs form celestial brackets around 3 matched sets of stunning Eclipses symmetrically based around a common center point of May 26, 2021, from 2015-2027. Even as the Spring Equinox Eclipse @ the North Pole is part of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, so also the August 2^nd, Total Solar Eclipse frames a near Blood Moon Tetrad of 2025-2026.

The Near Lunar Tetrad of 2025-2026; #6

March 14^th,2025, Total Lunar Eclipse
Sept. 7^th, 2025, Total Lunar Eclipse
March 3^rd, 2026, Total Lunar Eclipse
August 12^th, 2026 Partial Lunar Eclipse

This Blood Moon Lunar Tetrad consists of the first of 2 Total Lunar Eclipses in 2026, initially occurring on Tuesday, March 3^rd, 2026, after which the August 12^th, 2026 Partial Lunar Eclipse occurs. As the 3^rd eclipse in a near Tetrad, the March 3^rd, 2026 Eclipse is preceded by a March 14^th,2025, Total Lunar Eclipse, followed by the Sept. 7^th, 2025, Total Lunar Eclipse. As the final Lunar Eclipse in this near Lunar Tetrad of 2025-2026, the 8-12-2026, partial Solar eclipse falls 1904 days after the central super Blood Moon on May 26, 2021. This links to the March 9^th, 2016 Total Solar Eclipse that also fell 1904 days prior to the central super Blood Moon on May 26, 2021. This 2016 total solar eclipse on March 9^th, was part of a lunar sextet of signs following the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Lunar eclipse series.

The next 2 corresponding eclipses in this Menorah are the subject of my Oct. 2023 blog that cross to form the Alpha/Omega eclipses of 2017 and 2024. These Pan-American eclipses, are separated by 1211 days [3.5 eclipse years] each for a total of 2422 days [7 eclipse years]. The Aug. 2^nd, 2027 eclipse over the Nile river and eastern Saudi Arabia, will be the longest eclipse of the 21^st century, forming an “X” marking middle eastern boundaries, will be visible in Israel.

Figure 2. Eclipse Crossing over the Middle East 2027-2034. #7

Map from 1260d.com website. The epicenter of the Cross is southeast of Luxor, home of the Pharoahs, on the Tropic of Cancer. The pattern, as in the USA eclipses is the cross, or the X—Tav in Hebrew, Christ in Greek.

These eclipses occur on the 19-year Metonic just as Spring Solar Equinox eclipses match calendar days of 3-20-2015 and 3-20-2034. A lunar tetrad occurs in 2023 and 2033 and a High Holy day tetrad occurs in the years 2033 and 2034 (though the eclipses will not be total in 2034). In each case,
an important solar eclipse occurring on the Spring Equinox takes place between lunar eclipses on the high holy days of Judaism. #8

The precise midpoint of the 2017 and 2024 USA eclipses was Dec. 14, 2020. This date appears to be a US political center of activity, as on this day, between 10am-5pm Eastern time, the Electoral College certified Joe Biden & Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States of America. A key Monday Total Solar eclipse was perfectly centered between two Total Solar eclipses, as the political administration that oversaw the division of the USA, was installed to close the American Century from 1918-2017, written in eclipse shadows across US borders. This however is not the only importance of this date as Dec. 14^th, 2020 also witnessed a Hannukah Total Solar Eclipse, as an-other center point eclipse not only for the Pan American Eclipses of 2017-2024, with 1211 days between each eclipse, but a spiritual view of a Hannukah eclipse is established the next year on Dec. 4^th, 2021 with another Hannukah Total Solar eclipse, a lunar year or 355 days later. An Eclipse on Hannukah represents the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, by lighting candles on the Menorah embodied in these seven eclipses!

This central date of Dec. 14^th, 2020 represents the center candle of a Menorah of Eclipses-two Pan American eclipses from 8-21-17 to 4-8-24, each separated by 7 eclipse seasons–1211 days– in either direction brings you the USA Eclipse Judgments (which themselves are exactly 7 eclipse years apart). Seven eclipse seasons is 3-1/2 eclipse years … 34 months to the day before the USA’s Ring of Fire eclipse, last month on 10/14/2023. This represents a Base Menorah of three eclipse-branches, as a foundation to a regular seven-Branched Eclipse Menorah, centered on May 26th, 2021 Central super Blood Moon.

The remaining three pair of eclipses form the entire symmetry of this Seven- branched Eclipse Menorah over the following 14 years:

1. 3-20-2015 Total Solar eclipse 2259 days before the central May 26th Blood Moon is paired w/ Aug. 2nd, 2027 Total Solar Eclipse 2259 days after May 26th.

2. 3-9-2016 Total Solar Eclipse 1904 days before the central May 26th Blood Moon is paired w/ 8-12-2026 Total Solar Eclipse 1904 days after May 26th, 2021.

3. 7-2-2019 Total Solar Eclipse 694 days before the central May 26th Blood Moon is paired w/ 4-20-23 Total Solar Eclipse 694 days after May 26th, 2021.

As we look forward to December and the Hannukah Holiday Season, we can be mindful of how the Almighty Creator has installed the perfection of His patterns in His Creation of the cycles of the Heavens and Earth.

God Bless!

Rene’

Footnotes

1. Figure 1 Picture credit, [https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series]
2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War]
3. IBID
4. IBID
5. [https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series]
6. IBID
7. Figure 2 picture credit [Map from 1260d.com website].
8. [https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series]

The Biblical Astronomy of the 10-14-2023 “Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse.”

We had an exciting astronomy event this past weekend folks, with a most rare and prominent occasion- an Annular Solar Eclipse. I saw this “Ring of fire” eclipse over my house in Nevada-Saturday morning @ about 9:30 with 80-85% coverage of the Sun. What a glorious sight! But what does it mean? This was not just any old eclipse, it is a follow-up to only the 2nd cross-country eclipse ever recorded to cross the entirety of the continental United States. The first installment of this later Eclipse took place in 2017, which we recognized in our June blog of 2017, on August 21stTotal Solar Eclipse. In that blog, I recalled the incident in the Bible where, Jesus told us “there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars,” prior to His return, causing many to wonder at what this huge “X” of solar eclipses across the U.S. might mean. Some believe this 3 eclipse series, visiting the shores of United States in 2017 and 2023-24, could initiate certain signs of the end-times, marking a 7-year period of tribulation spoken of in the Book of Revelation. Just to be clear, I’m not saying that, but this does not mean these celestial signs are not related to unique events of this nature, especially in light of the lunar cycle that framed these events starting in 2014.
This blog will clear up some of the confusion surrounding these events, for example if these signs Do relate to the 7-year tribulation, why does the period between these eclipses fall just short of seven calendar years? This blog will include elements of a reprinted article, explaining why astronomical prophecies in the Bible, especially involving eclipses may not refer only to calendar years.

This study is not designed to be an exhaustive view of all eclipses within the 2020 decade, but focuses on a period starting with the Blood Moon Tetrads of the formation of the nation-state of Israel, following to include the Blood Moon Tetrads of 2014/2015, and their Metonic Partner Blood Moon Tetrads of 2033/ 2034. The North Pole Spring Equinox Eclipse of 3-20-2015 also has its counter-part in the 3-20-2034 Great Eclipse, on the Equinox exactly 19-years later. This Metonic 19-year period is bracketed by Blood Moon Tetrads & Equinox Eclipses, holding some of the most notable eclipses in history, whose shadow paths out-line the conflicts and actions of key ancient and modern human empires.

As we approach the 2000-year anniversary of the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, This central event in all human history certainly is the focus of celestial history even as it is in Scripture. In the pre-ponderance of Biblical, historical and chronological evidence resulting from decades of Biblical research and teaching, April 28th, 28 AD is not only the most likely candidate for the date of Christ’s crucifixion, it is the strongest and most well supported option that fits the accuracy of Biblical timelines on this subject. This is not only during the time Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, but also based on calculations of Herod’s death eclipse in January, 1 BC, not 4BC. We also include the Bible guideline of Jesus at 30 years old, when according to Judean law, he was qualified as an adult, able to carry out his ministry in the 1-year [not 3] called the “acceptable year [singular] of the Lord,” according to Bible prophecy, [Isa. 61:1-2]. This is the text that Jesus quoted when He taught in the Synagogue [Luke 4:18-19], but he did not quote the entire text, stopping mid-verse 2 because “the day of vengeance of our God,” is and remains still future, in reference to God’s wrath in the day of judgment, and was not part of Christ’s ministry at that time.
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As we view Luni-Solar eclipse cycles, we begin with the 346.62 day eclipse year, wherein the moon, earth and sun are realigned in the same lunar node on the ecliptic. This involves the coordination of three different kinds of years:

Solar Year: The Earth’s orbital cycle around the sun. 365.242 days
Lunar Year: The Moon’s cycle to complete 12 orbits of the Earth. 354.3 days
Draconic Year: when the earth, moon and sun align at a Lunar node on the ecliptic. 346.6 days

We should not focus on any one of these types of years, but look at coordinating all three. When these 3 yearly cycles align it forms a pattern whereby we can predict eclipses, most clearly evident in the 19-year [6940+/- day] Metonic cycle.

Thus, eclipses generally repeat on about the same day of the year every 19 years. Eclipses are more easily predicted via the Saros cycle of 223 lunar months, or about 18 years and 11 days, which is also 19 eclipse years.

As the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth spun the Sun, Moon and Stars in their cycles according to His perfect and Omniscient timing, we can gain an understanding of His order of Creation, and set our lives in correspondent order with the Father of Lights. [Gen. 1:14-19]

These Solar eclipses could serve as a warning of impending judgments, since the crossing point of these eclipses is very near to the New Madrid fault zone. This fault zone is six times larger than the San Andreas fault zone in California and it covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Back in 1811 and 1812, a series of very devastating earthquakes along the New Madrid fault zone opened some deep fissures in the ground, caused the Mississippi River to run backwards in some places, and were reportedly felt as far away as Washington D.C. and Boston. As the strongest earthquakes ever recorded east of the Rocky Mountains, the heart of this “X” falls not only closest to the eclipse’ place of longest duration of totality, but also precisely in the area where we would expect such an earthquake. This does not mean these three solar eclipses are predicting an earthquake event, but it may serve as a warning for the U.S. to repent and turn to God, reminding us the Day of Christ’s crucifixion darkness was accompanied by a great earthquake.

As we review the context of the total solar eclipse on August 21st, 2017–the 2nd Pan-American Eclipse across the US, we find the following dates, shown with the Regulus unions in Leo, and the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Virgo in 2016-2017, as signs of the Celestial Sphinx:

July 30th, 2016 Mercury-Regulus Conjunction
Aug. 5th, 2016 Venus-Regulus Conjunction
Aug. 26-27th, 2016 Jupiter-Venus conjunction [Jupiter enters Virgo]
Feb. 26th, 2017 Jupiter-Venus conjunction
August 21st, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse in Leo @ Regulus
Sept. 23rd, 2017 [Virgo clothed with the Sun/Moon @ feet]-Rev. 12:1-2
Sept. 30th Yom Kippur-Day of Atonement
Nov. 13th, 2017 Jupiter-Venus conjunction

The two brightest planets –Venus and Jupiter –teamed up to provide the closest planetary conjunction of 2014, which has been the closest Venus-Jupiter union during the six Lunar Eclipses of 2014-2016, until August 27, 2016, when Jupiter entered Virgo eventually to be “birthed” in 2017. This Venus-Jupiter union on August 27th, saw these two planets three times closer than during their 2015 union when they were separated by only 1/3 of a degree.
This comparison of celestial alignments within the Lunar Eclipse Sextet from 2014-2016 with the Total Solar eclipse of August 21st, 2017 shows a series of solar and lunar eclipses on sacred feasts of the Hebrew Calendar. This high-lights the importance of the timing of the eclipse on 21st August 2017 relating to Elul 1, marking a 40-day Season of Repentance to Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. It also brings to light the spiritual nature of the recent invasion of Israel by Hamas, behind the Palestinian Terrorists who brutally slayed women, children and civilians on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. We need a recognition of the true source of Hamas’ hatred for Israel, its ancient roots exposed from Scripture to reveal the enemies of the true God, and their seething bloodlust against the race of His only begotten Son-Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as found in [Genesis 3:15, 49:8-10]. As we investigate the roots of “Hamas,” this word is the same Hebrew Word that means “violence.” It is found in Strong’s Concordance [H2555-Chamac]1 with its 1st usage found in Gen. 6:11; where the pre-flood earth was corrupt and filled with violence. In v. 12 it says “All flesh had corrupted [H7843] its way upon the earth. All flesh here is not all without exception, as Noah and his family were saved in the Ark. Also, v. 13 repeats the idea of v. 11, establishing the truth that the earth was filled with violence; [H2555-Chamac], through them-those who had corrupted themselves, via this violence-prompting God’s destruction of all the evil ones via the great flood of Noah. The kind of violence linked to “hamas,” is not a garden variety of damage inflicted upon humanity. Strong’s says its vehement violence inflicted to oppress. It is extreme wickedness and cruel violence, so rampant in those days, God had to wipe it off the map, and start over with the human race-with Noah. Thus, God executed the violent ones on the earth, those who had given themselves over to the devil spirit of violence that had so ingrained itself in the lives of that evil generation, because God hates those wicked ones that love this kind of brutal violence; [Ps. 11:5-6]. They are those who covenant by eating the bread of wickedness & drink the wine of violence, [Prov. 4:17], as the soul of this kind of transgressor feeds on violence, [Prov. 13: 2, Isa. 59:6-7]. Those destitute of the true God are given over to idols, making their land full of bloody crimes and their city full of violence, [Ezek. 7:18-23]. This is the iniquity discovered in the Adversary himself, the violence embodied in the “great Satan,” not the U.S. or Israel, as the terrorists say, but the fallen archangel and prince of darkness; [Ezek. 28:16], who once sat at the side of the Almighty. This spiritual hatred rooted in the conflict between the two seeds of Gen. 3:15, is what makes for the virulent blood feud witnessed through all of OT History, and now in the last days, we are returning to the days that are like those of Noah.
As it was the enemy’s desire to prevent the 1st Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the genocide of Haman’s plot foiled by and the bravery of Queen Esther and Mordecai, that saved the Jews by the Hand of Almighty God of their day, so it remains their desire to inflict as much pain and destruction on Israel and the Christian world as possible today. God’s acts of righteous judgment will be completed as the evil ones of today are exposed and dealt with according to God’s perfect justice. The remainder of this blog is a reprint of the sections and the summary article on the 3 eclipses that started in August 2017. Please refer online to; [https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series] where you can find more info on this topic for your personal study…

The American Century in Eclipses. 2

Two sets of Eclipses define the American century. The first set define its beginning…a cross country USA eclipse on June 8, 1918…7 eclipse years (2422 days) later, an eclipse cut across the Northern US from Minnesota through New York City. The second set defines its end…starting with a cross-country USA eclipse on August 21, 2017 …seven eclipse years (2422 days) later, an eclipse cuts south to north through New York State ( the “empire state”)…
Between the 1918 and 2017 USA cross country eclipses is 36, 234 days.
Between the 1925 and 2024 USA eclipses is 36,234 days… Between each matching member of the pairs is 99 years and 74 days… or 1190 months and 13 days… The True American Century written in eclipses, bracketed by 7-year eclipse pairs.

June 8, 1918

In this illustrated Map of June 8, 1918 eclipse, Mt. Saint Helens in center of totality. The only Eclipse that traveled across the entire contiguous USA before 8-21-2017 was June 8, 1918. During this time the US was embroiled in WWI— and at the start of a Spanish Flu Pandemic …note incredible similarity to path of 8-21-2017 USA eclipse. This marks the beginning of US dominance in world affairs.

2422 days from Jan 24, 1925 US eclipse

36,234 days from August 21, 2017 US eclipse

Jan, 24, 1925

At the mid-point of the roaring 20’s on January 24, 1925, a total solar eclipse across the northern USA from upper Minnesota provides the last total solar eclipse in New York City, the new epicenter and empire of western civilization, (“empire state”). New York was home to the financial and cultural centers of the nation–Wall Street, Broadway and vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley—the city was treated to rare clear skies and the eclipse was widely observed. The eclipse path crossed the Atlantic ocean to extreme northern latitudes. Near totality at Kennedy Home.

2422 days from June 8 1918 US eclipse

36,234 days from August 21, 2017 US eclipse

USA-Three solar eclipses in 7 years starting in 2017 – See the A? #3

It’s difficult to find any nation in history so perfectly trisected by solar eclipses geographically as the USA is by eclipses on 8-21-2017, 10-14-2023 and 4-8-2024…over a 2422 day span. A is for Alpha, (Hebrew) Alef , It’s an “A” that is comprised of three lines, two x’s. The 8-21-2017 and 4-8-2024 are Hepton Total Eclipses, both on Monday’s.
HEBREW IS READ RIGHT TO LEFT… ALEF AND THE TAV

Paleo-Hebrew was the script in which the Old Testament was written, not the modern script that is currently used ( being standardized around 200 B.C.)

On the left is a Tav–the last letter (22nd) of the Hebrew alphabet– essentially a cross or X in the above illustration.

On the right is the Paleo-Hebrew Aleph–the first letter of the alphabet. The Tav is being written by the shadow of the moon on both locations.

The Aleph-( where we get Alpha and our letter A) is written by shadows of the 2017, 2023 and 2024 eclipses on the USA. 4

The Alpha and the Omega

Reading right to left, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” –Rev.22:13… go back and look at the Aleph (A) over the USA mapped in last section

Total Solar Tav over America-2017 and 2024

It’s a cross. It’s also a Tav, the last letter, the 22nd, of the original Hebrew alphabet. It means truth. In the Greek alphabet, X is the symbol for the letter ‘chi. ‘ Chi (or X) is the first letter in the Greek word for “Christ” and can stand in for the word “Christ“, which is why people can write “Happy Xmas.” In the early days of the Christian church, Christians used the letter X as a secret symbol to indicate their membership in the church to others.

The above map illustrates the Total solar eclipses of 2017 and 2024 over America, both on Mondays, separated by a 2422 day (7-eclipse years) span.

The Mideast Eclipses of 2027 and 2034—see the X

[map from 1260d.com] 5

As the author points out this eclipse crossing in view of the Giza Plateau, embodies the southern border of the land promised to Abraham by God in Gen. 15:8, [see Ex. 6:1-8]. As we have just concluded 120 hours of teaching in our OT History class over 1.5 years, showing how the Jews have dwelt in this middle eastern land of Israel starting with Abraham for 1900+ years! This evident truth of Bible history will never be erased by holocaust denying terrorists. On Aug 2nd, 2027 and March 20, 2034 Total Eclipses intersect near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt…are also separated by a 2422-day span (7 Eclipse Years). Like the American Total Eclipses, both are Hepton Cycle eclipses taking place on Mondays. All four crossing eclipses are members of the same Hepton Cycle. 27 AD to 34 AD contain all the probable dates for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

AMERICAN OMEGA–THE TOTAL ECLIPSES

Monday Aug 21 2017

The USA divided in half on Aug, 2017. 7 months and 1 day after Trump’s inauguration. First day of the month of Elul, Hebrew year 5777. In Jewish tradition, the month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 6

Monday April 8 2024

2422 days later, the USA is divided South to North, along with Mexico and extreme Eastern Canada. This occurs 8 days after Easter and 14 days before Passover. 7

The Mideast eclipses occur on boundaries of this 2,000th year anniversary, but no solar eclipse can naturally occur on the exact day’s anniversary. Jesus was crucified at Passover (which is at full moon). Solar eclipses happen at new moon.

The total eclipses occur 7 eclipse years (draconic years -346 days) apart, both on Monday –Moon Day. A span of 2422 days. They are part of a unique series of eclipse groupings called a Hepton. 8

NOW ADD THE GREAT 10-14-23-AMERICAN RING OF FIRE

Ring of Fire 2023

531 years and two days after Columbus discovered America, an Annular eclipse creates a ring of fire from Oregon to Texas and then on to South America this past weekend, October 14th 2023, one of 3 U.S. solar eclipses in the USA in Seven Years, [2017-2024].

Extremely significant Ring of Fire eclipses also occur during this time frame… including 12-26-2019 Tsunami Anniversary Eclipse.
6-21-2020 Solstice/Father’s Day Pandemic Eclipse,
6-10-2021 Canadian Judgment, and USA Ring of Fire 10-14-2023.

There are many ways to look at this grouping but it seems to demand consideration because of its obvious boundaries around the USA. There are three eclipses in 7 years in the USA and the nation is perfectly trisected. The fact that the nation was politically divided and subdued during this time frame stands clear as a historical fact. 9

USA, Central America, Exits Brazil

It enters Oregon–center of annularity coming ashore near Florence at 9:05 am. Oregon’s second eclipse in 7 years- and heads across the Southwest USA. Crosses Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan, Central America, across the Amazon and exits into the Ocean at Natal, Brazil. Natal is Portugese for Nativity. 10

Over the Cross of the Four Corners

The only place in the USA where four states meet and form a cross, the sacred lands of the Four Corners region. The Eclipse path perfectly covers the Cross as it travels over some of the most beautiful areas on planet earth, including confluence of Green and Colorado Rivers, several national parks and centers of the lost Anasazi Civilization like Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.

Corpus Christi–The Body of Christ

The eclipse exits the USA at the exact centerline of annularity directly over the city of Corpus Christi, Tx (Body of Christ) – The only city in America that bears such a name. The eclipse then traverses the gulf of Mexico before crossing the Yucatan. 11

Ring of Fire Eclipse 10-14-23

A “Ring of Fire”/ Sunflower Annular eclipse passes over the western US on 10-14-23 before traveling to the Yucatan and crossing northern Brazil. 177 days before the Spring 2024 total eclipse.

Remember! Total and Annular Solar Eclipses are rare. To have three completely trisecting the USA in 7 years is nothing short of incredible. One eclipse is past-the Great American Eclipse of Aug 21 2017, The next total solar eclipse in the USA arrives 2422 days later on April 8, 2024, It will be the only Total solar eclipse to touch all three nations in the 21st Century. The shadow paths of these two eclipses mark an X over America-centerpoint just south of Carbondale Illinois, specifically near Salem Road near east bank of Cedar Lake.

The total eclipses occur 7 eclipse years (draconic years -346 days) apart, both on Monday –Moon Day. A span of 2422 days. They are part of a unique series of eclipse groupings called a Hepton. 12

The exact midpoint of the Total eclipses is 1211 days. That date turned out to be Dec.14, 2020...It so happens there was another total solar eclipse then on the other end of the Americas, also a Hepton Eclipse, also on Monday. It coincided with a momentous day in the USA;

MONDAY 12-14-2020- MIDPOINT OF USA MONDAY JUDGMENT ECLIPSES

Joe Biden is confirmed President by Electoral College

The precise midpoint of the 2017 and 2024 USA eclipses was Dec. 14, 2020. On that day, between 10am and 5pm Eastern time, the Electoral College certifies Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States of America. A significant Monday Total Solar eclipse perfectly spaced between two Total Solar Monday eclipses. 13

7 eclipse seasons–1211 days– in either direction brings you to the USA Eclipse Judgments of 8-21- 2017 and 4-8-2024 (which themselves are exactly

7 eclipse years apart).
7 eclipse seasons is 3 and 1/2 eclipse years … 34 months to the day before the USA’s Ring of Fire eclipse.

TWO TAVS MAKE AN ALEF / USA ECLIPSES, totally unique 2024

The April 8 2024 Eclipse will be the only one to cross Mexico, USA and Canada in the 21st Century. It occurs 8 days after Easter on a Monday.

Texas will get its second solar eclipse in 6 months. 14

First Tav–Annular 2023 and 2024 Total

Here is the cross/ Tav / X / Omega formed by this past weekend’s 10-14-23 Ring of Fire and the 4-8-24 Total solar eclipses, 177 days apart. They cross in Texas somewhere in the hill country. The exact point where paths cross has yet to be posted on the internet.

Second Tav– Total Eclipse Tav-2017 and 2024

And here is the Tav formed by the 2017 and 2024 Total USA Solar Eclipses, their intersection south of Carbondale Illinois, at Salem Road on the East edge of Cedar Lake. 15

And The Alpha-The sum of the Two Tavs

Once again, the shadows of the three eclipses that occur in a 7-year span clearly write the letter A upon the United States. It is Alef, Alpha. Perhaps those with wisdom will reckon these days.

USA 8-21-2017

Total Eclipse/Judgment Eclipse. Hepton Cycle Monday Eclipse. The Great American Eclipse. The most viewed American eclipse of all time. America Divided. First major city in totality was Salem, Oregon–the largest US city named after Jerusalem. Before this, the last eclipse visible in the US was Feb. 26, 1979, seen only in the Northwest. 16

Eclipse Feb 26,1979

Last Total eclipse in USA for 38 years. Totality over Mount Saint Helen’s (1222.2 degrees longitude). 388 days before she awoke with an earthquake on Spring Equinox of March 20 1980, before she exploded to the due north on May 18 1980 in the largest volcanic eruption in modern Continental US History. The beginning of the technological era. The final era of the American Empire and the creation of one of the last world Empires. 17

American Judgment 4-8-2024

Hepton Cycle: Monday Eclipse. Total Solar Eclipse. Judgment Eclipse. Finishes both Tavs and the Aleph over the USA (2nd Tav pictured above). 8 days after Easter, 2422 days from USA eclipse of 2017, 1211 days after Election Eclipse of 2020, 177 days after Ring of Fire eclipse of 10-14-2023. Do these eclipses embody Judgment on America?

A Metonic Cycle is a 19- solar year period of time which is bordered by the exact same solar date, lunar phase and ecliptic reality. In this case, matching solar spring equinox eclipses on 3-20-2015 and, 19-years later on 3-20-2034. Both of these dates are also bordered by lunar eclipse tetrads which fall on the high holy days of Judaism (Passover and Feast of Tabernacles). Within this Metonic are a series of eclipses that appear to highlight the empires of man, both along the anniversary years and around them. 18

Lunar Eclipse Tetrads announce the Metonic

The North Pole Spring Equinox Total Solar Eclipse of 3-20-2015 is the official Solar beginning of the Metonic we are considering, but its bordered by a extraordinary set of lunar eclipses, which created quite a stir in some circles. The so-called “Blood Moon ” Tetrad of 2014 and 2015 brought successive lunar eclipses on the high holy days of Judaism. Passover ( April 15) and Feast of Tabernacles (October 8) in 2014 and again Passover ( April 4) and Feast of Tabernacles (Sept 28) in 2015…nestled between these events was the singular 3-20-2015 Solar Eclipse which ended directly at the North Pole. It is unclear whether any eclipse in history has ever done such a thing. 19

Tetrads also announce the end of Metonic

There is another perfect lunar tetrad (meaning total eclipses) in the years 2032 and 2033. Between the the years 2033 and 2034 the lunar eclipses land again on the high holy days of Judaism.

2033–April 14 and October 8

2034–April 3rd and September 28…you will notice that these dates are essentially the same as the Lunar tetrads of 2014 and 2015. That is how the amazing Metonic cycle works.

A 19-year Chapter to write the Final Story

19 solar years is exactly 235 lunar months, and exactly 21 eclipse years (eclipse years are 346.62 days). Within this time frame are the Judgment Eclipses. Does the time frame start between the lunar or the solar? Is it the Blood Moon Tetrads that announce the beginning and the end of the cycle, or is it the tremendous Spring Equinox Eclipses of 2015 and 2034 that rest between them?

LUNAR ECLIPSE HOLY DAY TETRADS AND EQUINOX ECLIPSES

The Beginning of the Blood Moon Metonic

The only lunar eclipses considered in our survey involve the High Holy day tetrads. They occur on the 19 year Metonic just as the Solar Eclipse Equinox eclipses match calendar days of 3-20-2015 and 3-20-2034.

Lunar eclipses on the High Holy Days of Judaism in the years 2014 and 2015 sandwich a Total eclipse of the Sun on the Spring Equinox of 2015 ( Jewish and Muslim New Year) which ends immediately at the North Pole. Only 7 such lunar eclipse tetrads have occurred since the coming of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. A Blood Moon Tetrad occurred between 1493 and 1494 shortly following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and the discovery of the New World.

A Blood Moon Tetrad occurred between 1949 and 1950 on Passover, after the 1948 declaration independent Jewish state, which was followed by the war for Jewish independence.

A Blood Moon Tetrad occurred between 1967 and 1968, following the 1967 “Six Day War,” during which Israel liberated the entire city of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount where the First and Second Temples once stood. For the first time in 2,000 years, Jerusalem, in its completeness, was the capital of the Jewish state. A lunar tetrad occurs in 2023 and 2033 and a High Holy day tetrad occurs in the years 2033 and 2034 (though the eclipses will not be total in year 2034) 20

The End of the Blood Moon Metonic

They occur on the 19-year Metonic just as the Solar Eclipse Equinox eclipses match calendar days of 3-20-2015 and 3-20-2034. A lunar tetrad occurs in 2023 and 2033 and a High Holy day tetrad occurs in the years 2033 and 2034 (though the eclipses will not be total in year 2034). In each case, an important solar eclipse occurring on the Spring Equinox is sandwiched by lunar eclipses occurring on the high holy days of Judaism. 21

The author of this article via his website [https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series] certainly presents some compelling celestial history here in a most convincing context. The celestial structure of these Luni-solar eclipse signs is not something one should ignore. If you do, you do so at the peril of yourself and your loved ones. These celestial signs surrounding the 2000th anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are not a “coincidence,” being a direct by-product from the Hand of our Almighty Creator, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don’t agree with all the author’s conclusions, but I’m sure the Believer’s will get blessed and be edified with this research! Enjoy…

God Bless!

Rene’

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance, [H2555-Chamac] James Strong.
2. https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series
3. IBID
4. IBID
5. map from 1260d.com
6. https://eclipsewitness.com/eclipse-judgment-series
7. IBID
8. IBID
9. IBID
10. IBID
11. IBID
12. IBID
13. IBID
14. IBID
`15. IBID
16. IBID
17. IBID
18. IBID
19. IBID
20. IBID
21. IBID

The Sacred Geometry of Biblical Astronomy

The Sacred Geometry of Biblical Astronomy

In the History of Astronomy, the Sumerians and Babylonians are generally recognized among the first civilizations to formulate a systematic mathematical science of astronomy, although both cultures were heavily influenced by astrology. Since the original Mazzaroth-the 12 signs of the Hebrews was first seen in the Astronomy of the Bible Patriarchs, it set the standard of truth as God’s Word written in the heavens, before it was committed to Scripture. The central truth of a Coming redeemer for mankind was first corrupted in the astrology of the zodiac of Babylon after Noah’s flood, as seen in the ziggurat of Ur and the tower of Babel, [Gen. 11:1-9] that spread a culture intrinsically bound to polytheism and astrology, where the stars were tied to, or conceived as idols. This became the key aspect of the secular approach to the history of Astronomy that always allowed for the influence of astrology. However, from a Bible perspective in the Astronomy of the Bible Patriarchs, the spiritualism and idolatry of astrology was always strenuously forbidden by God, [Isa. 47:9-14]. Cultures that obeyed God saw the resulting benefits, due to God’s perfect justice, while those disobeying these and other of God’s Commandments got the consequences, [Deut. 4:10-40]. As always, these Bible principles remain in effect today, since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and He does not change.

The Biblical Astronomy approach to Astronomical history demands that we differentiate from secular astronomical history which for the most part, is centered and focused on human astronomical history outside of Scriptural and sacred concerns. The great majority of this secular astronomy is infected with the spiritualism of astrology, and the worship and fatalistic association of the stars with a local/national pantheon of idols, forbidden in God’s Word [Isa. 47:9-15, Ezek. 8:13-18], or an evolutionary-scientific view of the heavens and earth. This summary serves to frame our Biblical Astronomy approach to Astronomical history, as a distinct departure from secular astronomical history by showing the Biblical origins of most astronomical concepts and topics, that in many cases predate their conception in secular history. These key concepts include but are not limited to; the ecliptic, the zodiac, or as known in Scriptural sources as the “mazzaroth,” that since at least the times of King David, [1000-900BC] who wrote many Psalms, disclosed the circular path or “line” travelled by the Sun, [of God, Mal. 4:2a]. We will also include topics the Celestial Sphere and the Zodiacal Band, as unifying concepts in Biblical Astronomy, with our Scriptural evidence provided for these concepts.

In Psalm 19:1-6; a Psalm of David, “The heavens declare the glory of ELOHIM, the (CREATOR). In the first half of Psalm 19, verbs in this section are literary, then in vs. 7 they transition to the astronomical, which serves to unify the structure of God’s Word in all of the 19^th Psalm.

A Literal translation according to usage of Psalm 19:1-4 reads as follows:

v.1 “The heavens continuously [all the time, not sporadically] go over and over, again and again, rehearsing the glory of God, the Creator [Elohim],
and all of God’s expanse keeps setting forth God’s great handiwork in the heavens.”

v.2 “Day in and Day out, the heavens are continuously pouring forth, telling and prophesying; and, night after night, the heavens continuously pour forth intelligent information.”

v.3 “There is no speaking forth by way of the heavens, nor words they pour forth in all the earth, where the words the heavens pour forth have not been heard.”

v.4 “The heavens allotted measurements (ecliptic-signs & seasons– Gen. 1: 14) have gone over all the created earth, and the teachings of the heavens have gone all over the inhabited earth. In the constellations hath He established a tabernacle for the sun,”

The word for “line” in v.4=[H6957-qav] prophecies, is also survey lines denoting the ecliptic or passage of the sun through the heavens, and the lines marking the “decans” linked to the zodiacal houses of the sun. This is a universal standard of timekeeping and the basis of numerous cultural/ historical calendars. Also, as the lines of Latitude and longitude on the face of the earth are always based on 360° of the circle; longitude=(180° E↔180° W) and 180° of latitude (90° N ↔ 90° S) corresponding to the measuring lines, that order the Heavens reflected upon the Earth. 1# [Rom. 10:17-18]

“In them“=the heavens
“tabernacle“=houses of the sun. [mansions of the 12 zodiac signs of the mazzaroth]

v.5 And he as a bridegroom embarking from his bridal canopy (pavilion), like a champion rejoices to run his course. [ecliptic path]

notes on v. 5…The oriental wedding concludes with the groom leading the bride out of the canopy (indicative of God’s protection) after the marriage ceremony. This also is a figure for Christ-The Bridegroom, courting his Bride-Israel [Not the New Testament Church of his Spiritual BODY].

v.6 Its rising is at one end of the heavens, its circuit reaches from one end to the other, and nothing [yes, no one] is hidden from its heat.

The word “circuit” [H8622–tequphah] =a revolution of the sun, a time course or circuit, come about, end. #2 This deals with both the regular and retrograde motion of the sun in its daily and precessional circular cycles] on the ecliptic [Ps.19:4-6], a.k.a the tabernacle or [Old Testament tent housing the Ark of the Covenant– symbolic of God’s presence among His people-Israel’s 12 tribes, as the 12 houses of the Sun on the path of the ecliptic; [Isa.40:22]. Isaiah says God sits above the “circle”; circuit, compass or vault; [H2329-chuwg; of the earth–the horizon]. 3# Here the Sun’s revolution and circuit is not only associated with the way or path of the ecliptic, but is also the same Hebrew word for “circle” in Isa. 40:22, telling us that the ecliptic or path of the sun, was Biblically seen as circular at least by c. 1000 BC, in these Psalms of David. Since the Bible record of the path of the sun in the heavens, expounds on previous Scriptural accounts of this truth like Gen. 37:5-11, which predate the Psalms in the Bible Patriarchs, support the homogeneous record of truth in God’s Word written in the sky, or the Celestial Gospel.

In Babylonian mathematics the pi ratio was approximated as the number 3, which was also found in the architecture and dimensions in the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 7:23). The Babylonians knew that the number 3 was an approximation – an Old Babylonian tablet from the 19th-17th century BC. approximated pi more accurately as 25/8. The Egyptain Rhind Mathematical papyrus which dates to about the same time period, approximated pi as 256/81 by approximating the circle with an octagon. 4# This tells us that pi was linked to the concept of “circle geometry” in the ancient science of Babylon, Egypt and Israel. However, a general consensus in existing secular astronomical history is that it was not till the Seleucid period that the mathematical astronomy and astrology of the ecliptic was conceived geometrically as a circle divided into 12 equal parts. This consensus also holds that the ecliptic was not identified till the same period with the projection of the annual path of the Sun in the Celestial Sphere. 5#

Figure 1. The Hebrew “wheel within a wheel” from Ezekiel’s vision. 6

As symbolic references to the four quarters of heaven, the 4 unified faces of the living creatures [Rev. 4:6] represent a composite of the celestial narrative, witnessing to the return of the promised redeemer, and his judgment on the assembly of the wicked.

The Sun’s Cycle of Precession

Let’s focus on some initial Biblical evidence of the precession of the equinoxes in Psalm 19, as an introduction to the significance of the Sun’s “dual year,” or its annual and precessional cycles, the two prime standards for astronomical time. This differentiates the Sun’s dual year, first seen in it’s annual cycle, as it spends a month in each sign of the mazzaroth, opposed to the Sun’s retrograde precessional cycle, where it spends a “great month” or 2,160 solar years in successive signs of the ecliptic. When it passes through all twelve signs of the tropical zodiac, the Sun completes its cycle of the “great year,” in about 25,920 solar years. In Psalm 19:6 we find evidence to this apparent retrograde motion of the Sun: “His going forth is from the end of the heaven...is a reference to the course of the sun’s path on the ecliptic, so called because all the solar and lunar eclipses occur on this course. The words “going forth” in [Hebrew-H4161] = mowtsa, meaning the dawn, the east, a gate, or the rising of the sun. 7#

Thus, it refers to the place or gate of the rising sun, indicating the sun’s retrograde precessional movement, because the sun rises in a different “gate,” or successive zodiacal house on average every 2,160 years. The sun’s annual cycle, or solar year is seen in “his circuit” above, in Hebrew (*H8622) tequphah: rendered, “at the end of the year” in II Chron. 24:23, an obvious reference to this annual solar cycle. Thus, we have in brief, a Biblical contrast between these two solar cycles. The record of Joseph’s dreams in Genesis 37 takes us into greater depth on the Biblical testimony of precession. Joseph‘s 2nd dream in Gen. 37:9-11 reveals a precessional context, with its usage of stellar terms, especially the “eleven stars making obeisance” to his star or sign, of the Bull, Taurus. These 12 “stars” of Joseph’s dream link with the 12 sons of Jacob in Gen. 49, making up a Sidereal zodiac.

One also finds the precession of the Vernal equinox as a Tropical zodiac that appears to move in reverse against the fixed background of a sidereal zodiac
of the stars. In Ps. 19:4 “Their line is gone out through all the earth references the ecliptic as the Sun’s circular path, whose measures indicate the inheritance of the 12 tribes of Israel. The word for “line” is [H6957–qav or kav, from H6960-qavah a cord for connecting, especially measuring, a rule or musical string. 8#

This word is used in 1Kgs. 7:23 as a “line of 30 cubits did compass it round about” measuring the circumference of the rim of Temple’s great molten sea, where the pi ratio also appeared. This application of measuring involving the pi ratio directly applies to the circular geometric astronomy of the ecliptic to compute the Sun’s motion with the Moon and Planets on the ecliptic, relating to the fixed stars in the constellations and decans. This is certainly part of geometry-or a measure of the earth’s circumference on its horizon in the diameter of the ecliptic, divided into 12 parts. This key part of the History of Astronomy is called “Horizon astronomy.”

This application of the Pi ratio in the measure of the brim of the molten sea is likened to a version of the horizon in relation to the sea’s bowl as the domed sky. Thus, the record of Joseph’s second dream reveals astronomical truths that his first dream with an agricultural theme, does not. As the Hebrews may not have known about these accurate ratios for pi, in Solomon’s temple measures, they not only provide evidence of Divine inspiration in Scripture and sacred architecture, but there is strong evidence that these ratios of pi are directly related to the sacred names of God in Hebrew Scripture, and the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Since pi is a transcendental number, typically represented by infinite series of numbers, it is thus a fitting ratio to represent the infinite Divine. 9#

That said, here is an excerpt of the book entitled; “The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible.” There are figures of speech in the Psalms related to iconography of the Divine in the Middle East associated with a circle. Given this fact the ratio of pi was considered sacred. Several Psalms mention Jehovah as having wings:

Keep me as the apple, the daughter of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Your wings (Ps. 17:8).

The Hebrew word for “apple” literally means the black pupil of the eye, thus it is a hidden reference to a circle. The phrase “shadow of Your wings” is next mentioned in Psalm 36:

Jehovah, how precious is Your mercy, God, and the sons of Man in the shadow of Your wings (Ps. 36:7).

From Ps. 17:8 to the end of Psalm 36 there are exactly 355 verses, followed by 113 verses in Psalms 37-41, where 355/113 is a convergent ratio for pi, which indicates that there was knowledge of this ratio long before its rediscovery in the 5th century AD. The numeric word count of Psalm 17 references Psalm 61, which contains a similar statement:

I will seek refuge under the cover of Your wings (Ps. 61:4).

Similar statements can be seen in Ps. 57:1 and 63:7. Wings are also associated with the Sun (on its circular path) in Malachi:

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (Mal. 4:2).

In the final session of his OT History Class, Jon Nessle taught that the healing in the wings of God in Malachi 4:2 was manifest as we trust in His protection, as we are always safe in the secret place of the Most High, [Ps. 91:1]. The Hebrew word for “wing” is used to refer to a border as well as the four quarters of the earth (see Deut. 22:12, Isa. 11:12), thus two lines dividing a circle into four quarters would have been called “wings.” The image of a winged disk as a symbol to represent God was common throughout the ancient Near East. Below is the winged sun of Thebes of Egypt: 10#

The winged disk was also adopted in the monotheistic religion of Zoroaster, and of King Cyrus and the Magi in ancient Persia: seen below where the man holds a ring and rod in his hand…

God’s Revelation in the Celestial Gospels features 48 constellations, which include the 12 Signs of the zodiac, along with their 36 decans. These star-pictures were drawn around and linked to their specific star groups, starting with the earliest Bible Patriarchs, so that they would be handed down and remembered through the ages. These signs were from the start, [Gen. 15:4-6, 49] identified early on with the 12 sons of Jacob, Abraham’s family embodied the 12 tribes of Israel. [The Pi-Ratio In The Bible | Try-God.com] Genesis 37:5-11
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. [6] And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: [7] For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance [H7812] to my sheaf. [8] And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign [H4427] over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion [H4910] over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. [9] And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance [H7812] to me. [10] And he told it to his father and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down [H7812] ourselves to thee to the earth? [11] And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Figure 1. Taurus the Bull, the constellation signifying the Precessional Age
of Taurus [Num. 24:1-9] during which these events in [Gen. 37] occurred. 11#

Taurus the Bull, as Joseph‘s single sign in the Hebrew Mazzaroth, was split into the two horns of the Bull, representing his sons Ephraim and Manasseh [Num. 2:18-20 & Deut. 33:17]. This was done to accommodate a substitution for the rebellious tribe of Dan, made in the circle of the twelve Hebrew tribes, the twelve signs of the Sidereal zodiac. This allowed the placement of the Levitical 13th tribe in the center of the zodiac‘s circle, the pattern of the stars mirrored in the seed of Israel, as they camped around their Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai during their forty years of wandering, [Num. 2:2ff] This relation of the Levitical 13th tribe to the Sun, is a likely symbol of the regular Intercalation of a 13th month in the Hebrew Calendar. The Levites, being the priestly tribe, had charge of the affairs relating to the Tabernacle, housing the Ark of the Covenant. An aspect of the Tabernacle’s celestial plan is found in the edifice of its wooden framework providing a foundation on which the curtains [H3407- Ps. 104:2-3, Isa. 40:22, Ex. 26, 36], of the Tabernacle hung. They were assembled from 48 units, each ten cubits high, & 1.5 cubits wide.⁶ This implies the structure of these 12 zodiacal signs including their 36 decans, (12+36=48) divided into ten degree decans, showing not only God’s celestial order in the tabernacle of the Sun [Ps.19:4], but also marking the earthly Tabernacle as the focal point of the spiritual light of God’s presence among His people in the Old Testament. This was established in the priestly order of service instituted in the Temple by King David, with 24 courses of priests, each serving two times during Israel’s calendar year, totaling 48 weeks. When the three weeks of Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles are included, wherein all priests served, we have the 51 weeks of Israel’s luni-solar year, divided according to sacred and civil standard. The sacred year began in Nisan, the month of the spring Passover, while the civil year in the fall started with the 7th month-Tishri 1, the Day of Trumpets signaling the onset of Israel’s holiest month. This depicts the Creator’s light reflected in the celestial structure of Creation, ruling over the Hebrew time-keeping, manifest in the sacred architecture and service of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, fulfilled in Jesus Christ as the King and High Priest, after the order of Melchisedek.

We find another aspect of the Tabernacle’s celestial plan in Exodus 38 in relation to the use of silver and gold in the Tabernacle with the pi ratio in mind;

All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary (Ex. 38:24)

The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: a beka a head (or half
a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. (Ex. 38:25-26)

That the 1,775 shekels for the extra 3,550 men represent the circumference of a circle is shown by the fact that these 1,775 shekels of silver were used for the hooks of the pillars that marked the external boundary of the tabernacle. This relationship is confirmed by the amount of gold collected for constructing the tabernacle:

“Elsewhere, the number of firstborn Levites are numbered as exactly 22,000 (Num. 3:46) corresponding to the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. In the Psalms, there are 1775 or 5 x 355 verses in Psalms 42-142. The number 142 is 2 x 71 similar to how 355 is 5 x 71. To indicate the relationship between Psalms 42 & 142, Psalms 42-141 contain 1764 verses which is 42 x 42.

The number 29 is 22 + 7 which are the two numbers for the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. The number 730 is 2 x 365, where 365 is the number of days in the solar year. The number 355 is a close approximation for the number of 354.37 days for the lunar year. Thus, the gold represents the Sun and the silver represents the moon, and the cycle of a year would relate to the circumference of a circle. Also, for a circle with a circumference of 365, the diameter would be 116 or 4 x 29, a multiple of the number of talents of gold.”

Psalm 112 is followed by Psalm 113 thus represents the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi. As discussed previously in the chapter The Hidden Chronology of the Psalms these 600 verses also represent the 600 years of Noah and Psalm 95 corresponds with both the flood of Noah and the Exodus out of Egypt. 12#

The dream of Joseph, where his brothers appear as eleven stars and his parents as the Sun and the Moon (Gen 37:9-10), reference these two great lights on ecliptic path, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night, [Gen. 1:16]. Zodiacal stars are the only ones in the astronomical path of the sun and the moon; the twelve brothers, therefore, are the brightest stars on the ecliptic, and their tribes are the corresponding 12 constellations. We also find here the foundations of all luni-solar calendars across the face of many world cultures. There is general consensus among the researchers of secular history of astronomy that the ecliptic was not a formulated concept according to data from the cuneiform sources, until the 2nd – 1st millennia BC. As we have seen above, according to Biblical evidence in Ps. 19 written by David at least by c. 1000-900 BC, the path of the sun/today called the ecliptic was a well-known Biblical concept. If we consider the context of Joseph’s dream however, this concept was already conceived in or before the precessional age of Taurus, [4320-2160 BC]. When we consider the accepted history of secular astronomy, the Greek Hipparchus is generally credited with discovering the astronomical concept of the precession of the equinoxes, c. 127 BC. Yet there is abundant archaeological evidence of the recognition of precession in ancient cultures like Egypt and the Kali-Yugas of India, to mention two of a longer list of cultures, who were not only aware of precessional phenomena, but acknowledged it in their astronomical histories and mythology. 13# Another usage of the word for “line” [H6957–qav or kav] is found in Job 38:5 below, which broadens the context of its usage that we have alluded to above with I Kgs 7:23. This “measuring line” was also applied to the 2^nd temple in [Ezek. 47:2-4]. 14#

In Scripture an angel appeared to the prophet Ezekiel to measure the future temple:

When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway (Ez. 40:3).

The angel’s cord and rod could represent the circle and its diameter, as a measuring line was coiled in a rope that was a multiple of the length of the measuring rod. As the rod was likely a standard of measurement it was most likely a measure of the cubit, which was typically determined by measuring the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. That the cubit was associated with the diameter of a circle can be seen in the Egyptian cubit, that was divided into seven equal portions known as “palms.” If the cubit was used as the diameter of a circle it would represent a convergent ratio of 22/7 for pi when measured in palms, with the circumference measured as 3 cubits plus 1 palm. Three cubits would be considered as an approximate representation of the eternal Divine. That this is the case, can be seen in the representation of pi in the molten sea of the temple of Solomon, which had a circumference of 30 cubits (as was the height of Solomon’s temple, as well as Noah’s ark), an exact multiple of 3: 15#

Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast (1 Kings 7:23-24).

This is the only direct reference to a measurement of pi in Scripture, which uses an approximate value of 3 for pi. This is key since 3 and 7 are sacred numbers throughout Scripture.

If a cubit represented the diameter of a circle, then 3 cubits would be seen as a perfect representation of the circumference. An exact measure of 3 cubits is specified for the altar of the tabernacle of Moses: the altar of burnt offering was 5 cubits wide, 5 cubits long and 3 cubits high (see Ex. 27:1, 38:1). The altar is associated with a “circle“ in the Psalms:

I will wash my hands in innocence, and I will compass Your altar, Jehovah (Ps. 26:6)

The word for “compass“ is the same as the word for “circle” in Hebrew. As the altar was 5 cubits square, the diagonal or diameter of this circle would be near exactly 7 cubits. Thus, the circumference of a circle that circumscribes the altar would be 22 cubits, representing the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. 16#

In the context of God’s Creation below in Job 38:4-6, as its measures are used in reference to the “foundations of the earth,” linked to the earth’s cornerstone. The book of Job is considered key as the oldest book in Biblical canon, and its references to Creation set the context for many related astronomical concepts and ideas.

Job 38:1-6
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
²“Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
³Now ^[^a^]prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the ^[^b^]line upon it?
⁶To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

Here God challenges Job as to his whereabouts during the Creation period, when God laid the foundations of the earth, [Ps. 24:1-6, 78:69, 89:11, 104:1-9, Isa. 48:12-22, 51:12-13, Heb. 11:10]. The Hebrew word for “foundations” is [H3245–yacad= establish or set, to found or build up, appoint, be settled, firmly fixing something both literally and metaphorically]. Its most famous usage is in Isa. 28 below, in reference to Jesus Christ as the precious cornerstone, [1 Pet. 2:4-8, Rom. 9:32, Matt. 16:18] Jesus is the rock upon which he builds his church, and the chief cornerstone, with the apostles and prophets, framed together into the holy spiritual temple in the Lord, [Eph. 2:20-22, Rev. 21:14-27].

We also find reference to the measuring line of the foundations of this cornerstone in Isa. 28:16-17;

¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. ¹⁷Judgment also will I lay to the line, [qav] and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

In v. 17; Judgment also will I lay to the “line“= [H6957–qav or kav] and 17#
righteousness to the plummet, so that the Lord’s righteous standard of judgment is upheld in all circumstances in the architecture of his spiritual temple, [I Cor. 3:9-17]. Even as the apex of the Great Pyramid as its chief cornerstone establishes the perfect standard of measure for the entire edifice of this unique structure, in the four cornerstones at its base, so Jesus Christ embodies this perfect standard of righteous judgment. The diagram of the Great Pyramid below depicts how it embodies the geometric “squaring of the circle,” and how this concept lies at the basis of the idea of how the earth’s measures are reflected in the heavens.

This section of Job 38 has not fully been considered in its true biblical light because it has not been applied to the archaic fallen Morning Star, and the role of the angels of the first Heaven and Earth during this time. Genesis 1 teaches that the Earth was fully created and developed prior to the Sun, Moon or Stars, or any of the other “planets” in the Universe. This of course, is opposed to evolutionary theory we all learned in school.

Gen. 1:2 indicates that the earth became without form and void with darkness upon the faces of the deep, as the result of a great cataclysm that occurred between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2. This section of Job 38:4-7 adds light to the period before this cataclysm took place. It sheds light on the role of the angels, who already existed in fellowship, praising the Heavenly Father led by the Bright and Morning Star; [Isa. 14:12], as a basis and foundation-corner-stone of the Earth. The angels or morning stars shouted for joy and sang in their choirs, wondrous celestial harmonies at the laying of the cornerstone who modeled the survey lines and dimensions of the first Earth and heavens. As Isaiah 19:19-20 show the functions of the Great Pyramid as a Boundary Stone, not only for ancient Egypt, but also in the foundations of Planet Earth as its Cornerstone, modeled in the full Great Pyramid and Capstone. The 38th chapter of Job will not be fully grasped without understanding the structure and function of the Great Pyramid. This is one main reason why the Great Pyramid embodies so many added geometric dimensions of the Earth, like the Earth’s mean solar orbit radius, and the mean radius of the Sun, which are only two of a longer list. The graphic below shows the Great Pyramid at the center of the Earth, as a 3D model of our planet on a 1:43,200 scale, reflecting geographical lines of Latitude and Longitude, and when projected to the Heavens, marking lines of Celestial Latitude and Longitude also. The peri-meter of the base is equal to the length of the circle whose radius is equal to the height of the Great Pyramid, (2 * 3.14159 * 146.6 = 921). 18#

Observations revealed in the construction of the Great Pyramid, include: The spherical shape of the Earth incorporating allowances for polar flattening, the length of the earth’s axes of rotation, the Precession of the equinoxes, with the earth’s weight among others, as examples of the design specs setting the Great Pyramid apart from other pyramids. William Fix in his book “Pyramid Odyssey” 19# shows a direct link between the Pyramid’s dimensions and the size of the Earth. He found values not only for the Pyramid’s height in direct relation to the Earth’s Polar Radius but also the perimeter at the base sockets in the same ratio for the best figures of the Earth’s circumference at the Equator.

Using the most accurate Geodetic surveys Fix found the Great Pyramid to be a scale model of the Earth at a 1:43,200 ratio, which he accomplished with the inclusion of the Pyramid’s base into his calculations. Where else I wonder, might we find Biblical reference to this standard of measuring the Earth in an astronomical context?

Figure 2. The Pyramid Geometric Model of Planet Earth.

Curiously it is found in the numbers related to The Miracle of the Sundial of Ahaz, where the Sun moved backwards on the Sundial of Ahaz, as a sign of King Hezekiah’s Healing.

The Hebrew calendar has 12 months of 29 1/2 to 30 days. Approximately every 3 years they add a 13th month. Does that correlate in any way with the 10 degrees/ 40 minutes?

40 minutes per day x 30 days per month = 1200 minutes difference per month
1200 minutes x 12 months per year = 14,400 minutes per year
14,400 minutes per year x 3 years = 43,200 minutes
43,200 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour = 720 hours over 3-year period
720 hours divided by 24 hours per day = 30 days (the 13th month!)

This adjustment is required also to ensure the alignment of the feast days with the correct season. 20#

Why Did God Choose How Many Degrees and not allow Hezekiah to choose?

(2Ki 20:9) And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

Here we see that God gave Hezekiah the choice of 10 degrees forward or backwards, but not how many degrees. Why did God choose how many degrees, and not let Hezekiah choose? Because it may have affected God’s promise of His Covenant in the sanctified holy Sabbath.

If God had let Hezekiah choose the number of degrees, we as men like to see spectacular fantastic miracles. And as such Hezekiah might have chosen 30 or 40 degrees, as his first thought may not have been to preserve the Covenant of God’s Holy Sabbath! What would the potential impact be of this on the Calendar of Israel? If a change was made, which caused more than 1 day’s loss in any month, we would lose the last Sabbath of that month, as the last Sabbath is the 29th day of the month on the Hebrew calendar. As it stands now, only the 30th day, is lost in some months. If we had lost two days instead of one, then we would lose both the 30th day, and the 29th day Sabbath, thereby destroying the 7-day weekly Covenant, that God instituted in Genesis 2:3.” 21#

Gen. 2:1-3
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. ³And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

God blessed and sanctified the seventh day making it a Sabbath Covenant going forward, and He did not allow this Miracle of the Sundial of Ahaz to interfere with His promises. According to the calculations above, the 40 Minutes related to the 10 degrees the shadow of the sun moved backwards, on the sun- dial, the numbers fit a sacred numerical matrix that pervades the earth and our solar system. As the sun passes through its 365.2224- day, annual course it “dwells” in each of the 12 houses of its “civil year” of the zodiac for one month. The Sun moves in its circuit at a rate of 12 miles a second, or 43,200 miles per hour, with its train of planets in our solar system in the boundary lines of the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Interestingly, the sun’s orbital speed is 1/10th of 1/2 its perimeter in miles [864,000], or [20 x 43,200] shown as a multiple in the unity of God’s creation of Space-Time. In a base 60 number system seen in the 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, in the 360–day calendar year of Noah, also breaks down into the basic numbers of 6 x 10. This exhibits the relation between the civil [lunar], and sacred [solar] years of the Hebrew calendar, in context of precession. This base 60 number system also provides the basis for the golden section ratio, also known as phi: 1.618 (10 by 6.18, or 100 by 61.8…). In addition to unifying the structure of the human body, the musical scale, planetary orbits, biological growth cycles and the Hebrew Calendar, this phi ratio proves to also be a key element in the correlation of the eclipse cycle with the solar year.

The numbers referenced above, all fit within the workings of the Hebrew Calendar, and the intercalation of Israel’s calendar with an extra or 2nd month of Adar, to make up the 11-day difference between the luni-solar cycles. In His perfect foreknowledge, God knew how much leeway He could allow for, in the timing of this miracle of the Sundial, but He would not allow it to violate His existing Sabbath Covenant. It is important that we understand these, and other details to absorb to a fuller extent, the ramifications of God’s structure of the Hebrew Calendar, and how it relates to the Zodiacal band, within the order of the 12 constellations of the Mazzaroth.

With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look at the Zodiacal Band, wherein the planets move, starting with the planet Mercury, symbolizing the winged–footed Mercurius, indicating the speed and urgency with which the archangel Gabriel carries the teachings and messages of God, depicted in this planet’s rapid 88-day solar orbit. The range of Mercury’s orbit is within the Earth’s tropical borders, delineating the rectangular borders wherein the celestial light of the Sun, Moon and Stars is shed upon our planet. The word “tropic” has its roots in the Greek word tropos; [G5157], 22# found in James 1:17 with; a shadow cast by the turning of a heavenly body. This is understood better as we realize the Solstices are the farthest points from Earth, marking the Sun’s position, and thus the seasonal turning points of the calendar, where the days lengthen in summer, and shorten in winter. Since Mercury’s orbit takes it as much as 7 degrees North, or South of the Equator –Mercury is seen figuratively as bringing the light of God’s message to the Earth, by delineating our bounds on the ecliptic or pathway of the stars, within the bounds of the Zodiacal Band where the light of the Celestial Gospel is shed. This heavenly highway of 15 degrees reveals the relationship between the Celestial Equator and the ecliptic-or path of the Sun as the two primary circles in the sky forming the Celestial Sphere.

This also distinguishes the planets and stars outside this band generally un-named, by God in the firmament, from those whose names have been with us since antiquity, within this band [Ps. 147:4] As the messenger archangel of light; Mercury symbolizing Gabriel, defines a pathway in which God’s three-fold light in the Celestial Gospel is shed upon the Earth. The tropical borders also determine the two interlocking polar borders of the great circles of the ecliptic and Equator in the cycle of obliquity, relating to the varying degree of the earth’s axis tilt.

Figure 3. The Earth’s Axis and the Obliquity Cycle. 23#

It is important to realize Mercury’s symbolic portrayal of the ministry of the archangel Gabriel, and how this translates into the science of Astronomy, relating to the tropical boundaries. We find here a truth and correlating principle in the revelation of God’s threefold celestial light in Biblical Astronomy, as it reveals the laws of scientific astronomy.

Even as the orbit of the planet Mercury is compatible with the borders of the zodiacal band, so these borders fall inside the tropical boundaries of the Earth. Thus, Mercury-Gabriel establishes the boundaries wherein celestial light is revealed upon the Earth, not only in a spiritual sense, when Gabriel brings a message of God directly to the people, and in the Gospel in the Stars, but also in a practical scientific sense. Astronomy in ancient cultures on the face of the Earth documented the extreme rising and setting points of the Sun’s Solstice, as witnessed for example, with the Great Sphinx and Stonehenge. As a goal of Biblical Astronomy is to recover the understanding of the Bible Patriarchs in revelatory detail, as it applies to the Grace Administration, including the roots of the Astronomy of the Biblical Patriarchs that underlie the vast reservoir of ancient Archaeo-Astronomy, to recognize the influence exerted by the wisdom and divine revelation of these antediluvian Men of God. In this way, the study of Biblical Astronomy, reveals an authentic fountainhead in the history of ancient astronomy, that was perverted in the astrology of later star religions and the mythology of the ancient World.

Another level of truth we need to consider related to the Miracle of the Sundial of Ahaz, relates to what are called the “Songs of the Degrees.” There are 15 of these Psalms, that get their name from the 10 degrees the shadow returned on the Sundial, and are found in the Psalms, 120-134. They relate to the 15 years added to the life of King Hezekiah, resulting from his prayer to God for his healing, [Mal. 4:2]. These 15 Psalms break down into 10 related to Hezekiah and the 10 degrees the sun moved back on the dial, [2 Kings 20:8-11], with the other 5 Psalms from King David [4] and King Solomon [1]. The Psalm of Solomon is found in the center position [Ps. 127] in the structure of these 15 Psalms, with 7 Psalms on either side of it, including 2 Psalms in each of the 2 sets of 7-by King David, and 5 of these two sets of 7 by King Hezekiah. 24#

Since these 15 Psalms record God’s deliverance of His people from their trials under these 3 kings, God’s names are prominent in these Psalms, where the name Jehovah occurs 24 times in both the 2 sets of 7 Psalms. The 15 Psalms are arranged in 5 groups of 3, emphasizing God’s Deliverance with the subject in the first group is Distress, the second group is Trust in Jehovah, and the 3rd covering the blessings and peace in Zion. 25#

The Structure of the Psalms of the Degrees is as follows; 26#
from E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible.

Group 1. Distress
Psalm 120- Hezekiah’s distress under siege crying to Jehovah
Psalm 121- Hezekiah’s trust in Jehovah’s help
Psalm 122-Hezekiah’s deliverance and blessing in the house of Jehovah
[Psalm of David]

Group 2. Trust
Psalm 123-Hezekiah looking unto Jehovah
Psalm 124-Hezekiah trusting Jehovah [Psalm of David]
Psalm 125-Hezekiah’s blessing and Peace in Zion

Group 3. Blessing and Peace in Zion
Psalm 126-Hezekiah’s Distress prayer to turn his captivity
Psalm 127-Center Psalm of Solomon [Trust]
Psalm 128-Hezekiah’s Blessing and Peace out of Zion

Group 4. Distress
Psalm 129-Hezekiah’s distress in affliction
Psalm 130-Hezekiah trusting Jehovah
Psalm 131-Hezekiah’s Blessing and Peace out of Zion

Group 5. Trust
Psalm 132-Hezekiah recalls David distressed in affliction
Psalm 133-[Psalm of David], Trusting Jehovah w/1 heart.
Psalm 134-Hezekiah’s Blessing and Peace out of Zion

Link to the Structure of the Psalms of the Degrees from E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible.

The Zodiacal Band. 27#

What is interesting about these 15 Psalms of the Degrees is that they get their
name directly from the 10 degrees that the shadow of the sun moved back-wards on the Sundial of Ahaz. These 10 degrees symbolized the 15 years added to the life of King Hezekiah. Is it a mere coincidence that these 15 Psalms of the Degrees mirror the 15 degrees of the Zodiacal Band? The Center Psalm of Solomon; [Ps. 127], reflects the center-line of the Equator of the Earth, with 7 degrees- or 7 Psalms of the Degrees, on either side of it.

“The Great Hallel, which included these 15 Psalms of the Degrees, was sung at Passover, being recited at the Paschal supper, since remote antiquity. It praised the goodness of Jehovah towards Israel, in their deliverance from Egypt, where this generation began serving God instead of Pharaoh. Below, Alfred Edersheim tells us how the true worship of the Great Hallel or “Hallelujah chorus” was ordained and carried out on the Temple Steps by the Heavenly Father, in opposition to the idolatry that occurred before:

“….The Levites (with instruments of music without number) stood upon the fifteen steps which led down from the Court of Israel to that of the Women, according to the number of the fifteen Songs of Degrees in the Book of Psalms [Ps. 120-134]. Two Priests with trumpets in their hands, were at the upper gate (that of Nicanor), which led from the Court of Israel to that of the Women. At cock-crowing, they drew a three-fold blast. As they reached the tenth step, they drew another three-fold blast; as they entered the Court itself, they drew yet another three-fold blast; and so they blew as they advanced, till they reached the gate which opens upon the east (the Beautiful Gate). As they came to the eastern gate, they turned round towards the west (to face the Holy Place), and said: Our fathers who were in this place, they turned their back upon the Sanctuary of Jehovah, and their faces towards the east, and they worshipped towards the rising sun; but as for us, our eyes are towards the Lord.” 28 [Ezek. 8:16]

This tells us the nature of this idolatry based on sun worship, while shedding some light on the association of these the fifteen Songs of Degrees [Ps. 120-134] known as the “Great Hallel,” with the miracle of the Sun going backwards on Ahaz‘ sundial. This was a sign not only of Hezekiah’s personal rescue, but also the liberation of all those dwelling in Jerusalem via the fifteen years added to Hezekiah’s life, each year related to one of the 15 Psalms of the Degrees mentioned above, [Isa. 38]. This miraculous healing of King Hezekiah led to the extension of his progeny that eventually produced Jesus Christ, man’s deliverer. The Creator’s control of the sun in relation to the Earth’s orbit confirms His omnipotent power over these celestial bodies as only a small part of His Creation, no aspect of which deserves worship in place of the Almighty, [Rom. 1:23-25]. This record in Ezekiel 8 thus exposes the decrepit foundations of all forms of Astrology, showing the level to which the idolatrous substitution had its affect, because each ascending step of the Hallel rite leading to the Temple altar, was given over to an idol. This led to a corruption, not only of Temple, with all its attendant ministers, Sanhedrin priests, altar and sacrifices, but also the entire nation would be under this spiritual dark-ness as a result.

This summary of the true Genesis of the astronomical concepts first seen in Biblical Astronomy references covered in this study, will provide solid footing
in the history of Biblical Astronomy as opposed to astronomical secular history.
This Miracle of the Sundial was a game changer not only for King Hezekiah and all Israel, but all mankind also since the progeny of the Christ-line through Hezekiah was extended, that brought us our redeemer–Jesus Christ! This was probably another occasion where the enemy was partying thinking they had halted the genetic line of Christ, when Isaiah told the king he would die and not live, [Isa. 38:1] until Hezekiah’s faith turned the tables unto victory for mankind, through the Son of God.

As we stand together in this victory of the ages over the darkness of this world, we will reap our eternal rewards if we faint not. I’m proud to stand with you; my fellow believers in this fight that we have already won in Christ.

Agape’

Rene’

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance, [H6957-qav], James Strong
2. Strong’s Concordance, [H8622-tequphah], James Strong
3. IBID, [H2329-chuwg], James Strong
4. Spirituality, Dreams and Prophecy: The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible (dream-prophecy.blogspot.com)
5. Geometry of the Mesopotamian ”ecliptic” G.E. Kurtik
6. Figure 1 picture credit [jewishencyclopedia.com]
7. Strong’s Concordance [Hebrew-H4161], James Strong
8. IBID, [H6957–qav or kav, from H6960-qavah]
9. Spirituality, Dreams and Prophecy: The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible (dream-prophecy.blogspot.com)
10. IBID
11. Figure 1 picture credit;
[https://www.peoplesguidetothecosmos.com/constellations/taurus.htm]
12. Spirituality, Dreams and Prophecy: The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible (dream-prophecy.blogspot.com)
13. Hamlet’s Mill, Santillana & von Dechend
14. Strong’s Concordance [H6957–qav or kav], James Strong
15. Spirituality, Dreams and Prophecy: The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible (dream-prophecy.blogspot.com)
16. IBID
17. Strong’s Concordance [H3245–yacad], James Strong
18. IBID, [H6957–qav or kav], James Strong
19. Pyramid Odessey, William Fix
20. Bobtheberean.blogspot.com/2010/05/sundial-of-ahaz-extra-40-minutes.html
21. IBID
22. Strong’s Concordance [G5157], James Strong
23. Fig. 3 Picture Credit on The Obliquity Cycle, Heaven’s Mirror, p.182, Graham Hancock
24. Structure of the Psalms of the Degrees- Bullinger’s Companion Bible. p. 827
25. IBID
26. IBID, App. 67
27. Picture Credit for the Zodiacal Band [https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/z/Zodiac]
28. The Temple, Alfred Edersheim