Category: Moon

March 20th Total Solar Eclipse at the North Pole

According to many Bible historians, the pattern of Blood Moon Tetrads falling on Hebrew feasts points to deep significance of our current times in 2014-2015. Prior to the April 4th Passover Blood Moon, an unprecedented Total Solar Eclipse will occur on March 20th, the Spring Equinox. This also marks the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month in their ecclesiastical year, at the midpoint of the Shemitah year on the Hebrew Calendar. Any total solar eclipse reaching the rarefied air of the North Pole is unique, and the path of this Total Solar Eclipse follows exact tracking that ends at the North Pole, putting it within eclipse totality for about 2 minutes. A total solar eclipse at the North Pole on the Spring Equinox takes place about once every 100 centuries, but it has never happened on Nisan 1 in Hebrew Timekeeping, especially when combined with a Super-moon, putting this Total Solar eclipse in a class by itself. The Almighty is obviously trying to get our attention when He shows us unique heavenly signs like this, so what is the big deal about a Total Solar eclipse at the North Pole?

Figure 1. The Astronomical and Geographic Poles

In Biblical Astronomy, there is great significance attached to the North Pole, which we will explore in this Blood Moon Blog post. As this Total Solar Eclipse marks not only the center point of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, but also the center point of the Shemitah Year on the Hebrew Calendar, it is noteworthy indeed! To understand the importance of the North Pole in this context, we need to take a detailed look at the primary constellations in the northern sky and their Biblical star names to see the story they tell. Isaiah 14 below describes the fall of Lucifer from heaven, which is depicted in the zodiac sign Draco at the astronomical North Pole, seen below in Figure 1.

Isaiah 14:12

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

The demise of Lucifer is depicted in a key way with the astronomical mechanism known as the precession of the poles, in the star Thuban: alpha draconis, the brightest star in Draco the dragon, the original pole star. The precession of the poles is indicative of Lucifer’s demise, because the pole star has moved from Draco, and now resides near Polaris, or Al Ruccaba of the “little flock” of Ursa Minor. This pole star between the feet of the crowned king Cepheus, depicts Jesus Christ in at least two ways. First, as the prominent king, and new Chief Cornerstone, since Cepheus is the crowned king at the North Pole, even as Regulus the king star, is between the feet of Leo, the Lion king of Judah; [Gen.49:10]. Cepheus also means ” the branch” and is depicted as a king holding a branch at the northern pole, [Jer. 23:5, 33:15]. Secondly, and with spiritual hindsight, he is the head of his spiritual body, the Church. God put all things under Christ’s feet, indicating his seven-fold lordship over all Creation; [Eph. 1:20-23]. The exception to this, of course is God Himself, Who Christ ultimately subjects himself to; [I Cor. 15:27-28], avoiding the pitfall of Lucifer’s ego when he tried to take the Creator’s place. As God’s Name implies, there can only be One Almighty God! E.W. Bullinger refers to this precession of the North pole and Al Ruccaba specifically as follows:

 “Although the star does not revolve like the others, the central point in the heavens is very slowly but steadily moving. When these constellations were formed the Dragon possessed this important point, and the star alpha, in Draco, marked this central point. But by its gradual recession, that point is sufficiently near this star Ruccaba, in the Lesser Sheepfold, (Ursa Minor) for it to be what is called “the Polar Star.” But how could it have been known five or six thousand years ago? How could it have been known when it received its name, which means the turned or ridden on? That it was known is clear: so likewise was it made known in the written Word that the original blessing included not merely the multiplication of the seed of the faithful Abraham, but it was then added, “And thy seed shall possess the gate of thy enemies,”¹ [Gen. 22:17].

   This is an obvious indicator of the accuracy of these God-inspired star names [Ps. 147:4], dating back to antiquity, showing God’s divine insight in the heavenly gospel  from the beginning. This is also a point we have already come upon, that the purpose of the Revelatory Astronomy of God stands in juxtaposition to the evolutionary theories governing modern scientific Astronomy. Bullinger’s reference also shows the witness of the stars in concert with that of the Scriptures that is a consistent testimony throughout this study, and a major theme of our blog and web-site.

 This stellar transition of the pole star reflects an aspect of the transition of power from the fallen Morning star, who presided over ten categories of precious stones, representing angels [Ezek. 28:14], to the Risen Morning Star [Rev. 22:16], presiding over 12 categories of precious stones, as the High Priest representing the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 signs of the zodiac, and later perhaps the 12 apostles at the foundations of the Age of Grace.

Fig. 1a. The Precession of the Poles

Fig. ia. The precession of the north polestar, from Thuban to Polaris over the last 5,000 years.

As the high priest after the order of Melchisedek, Jesus inherits his double square breastplate of 12 precious stones, symbolizing the authority of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah as Priest-King over Israel’s twelve [4 x 3] tribes [Ex. 28:15-30]. In keeping with the celestial symbolism theme, the breastplate, was designed with a niche which held the Urim and Thummim, or lights and perfections; representing the two great lights of the Sun and Moon. As oracles of the High Priest, these two stones would reveal the wisdom and glory of the Creator, even as the movements of the Sun and Moon in the heavens declare the glory of God: [Ps. 19:1]. We find more references to the 12 stones and their variants in the living stones of I Pet. 2:4-7 and the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem: [Rev. 21:19-20] that the prophet Daniel called the Mountain of God, [Dan. 9:16-20]. Here we can see a unified witness of the promised seed bringing the 12 tribes of Israel to deliverance in the New Jerusalem, fulfilling the witness of the 12 signs of the zodiac. This witness coincides with the testimony of the Blood Moon Tetrads throughout the history of the Age of Grace over the last twenty centuries, [read more], where God’s deliverance has always rescued the nation of Israel when they were persecuted by their enemies. The breastplate of the High Priest fastened to the two large bejeweled shoulder studs of the ephod, and by gold chains fastened to the four-corners of the double square pectoral, representing the earth. The four rows of three jewels each, shows the same ecliptic order as Israel’s 12 tribes in their wilderness encampment.

Just as the Written Scriptures have prophetic elements so also does the Gospel in the Stars. These elements are readily visible in the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, and the other Blood Moon Tetrads going back through the Age of Grace: [read more]. The Creator wrote important elements of Spiritual history in the stars for us to decipher and obey, at the appointed time. This is evident as we connect the Biblical Astronomy truths of the North pole to the March 20th Total Solar Eclipse in the Northern skies, and over the Earth’s North Pole. Here is a picture of today’s Total Solar Eclipse taken from Edinburgh. Figure 1b. Total Solar Eclipse on March 20th 2015

  Job 26 provides more detail on this intriguing subject.

Job 26:5-13 ⁵ “The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.
⁶ Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering.
⁷ He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it.
⁹ He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.
¹⁰ He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness.
¹¹ The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke.
¹² He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
¹³ By his spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

“He hath garnished the heavens“- garnished (*H8231) means to: polish, glisten, shine forth as the dawn, which applies figuratively to alpha draconis as the archaic “bright and morning star,” and the first capstone of creation. It also means to: be beautiful, the notion of brightness is also applied to the building of sound.⁵ This matches with the root of  the word Lucifer “halal,” which is making a show emphasizing sound and light, showing the reason for the “morning stars singing together,” their praises to the Creator in Job 38:7. This garnishing of the heavens appears to be a figurative reference to the precession of the poles, placed in the heavens by His (God’s) Hand, indicating a heavenly prophecy of the coming redeemer Jesus Christ, [I John 3:8b]. Seiss’ comments on this word “garnished“ are noteworthy here: “It’s main sense is that of ornament, decoration, something added for embellishment; but it has the further meaning of summons and warning. And by these adornings God hath summoned the heavens and filled them with the proclamations and warnings of His great purposes, if Draco or Hydra are meant, then He himself is the Author of it, and by implication, the Author of the whole system of the constellations of which Draco and Hydra are a part.”⁶

Figure. 2 The Northern Polar Constellations

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“formed“- *H2342 (coiled) means to twist or whirl in a circular or spiral manner, to dance in a circle or writhe in pain, pervert, travail, be wounded;⁷ as the fatal wounding of the serpent’s head, (Gen. 3:16). The circular motion or dance, is also figurative for the circular motion of the precession of the poles, where the pole star is wrested from the serpent’s dominion in his painful battle with the promised seed, signified by Cepheus, the crowned king coming into his dominion over the pole star, polaris in Ursa Minor. This word also means to “be full of turns,” as Draco is depicted with his many coils, indicating his wily and subtle nature. Additionally it means to “return, to turn oneself round or away.”⁸ This word is used twice in Job 26, the first occurrence in verse 5, which refers to the imprisoned spirits of destruction (v. 6 abaddon) that carried out the ruination of the First Heavens and Earth. These spirits, figuratively referred to as “locusts“ in Revelation 9, are currently captive in the abyss, depicted in Revelation 9. This foreshadows Draco’s destiny, and eternal destruction in the lake of fire, depicted in the stars of the southern polar regions; or chambers of the south, [Job 9:9].

The circular motion or dance, in reference to the word “formed“- *H2342 (coiled), in Job 26:13 depicts an example of a Biblical literary figure for the celestial mechanism of the precession of the poles. Another example of a Biblical figure similar to this aspect of the starry serpent pertains to the “shadow of death.” This shadow was first cast by the author of death: [Heb. 2:14], when he committed the original sin, and iniquity was found in him. This section of Job 26 refers to the serpent, once he became crooked, obviously God did not create him this way. In reference to the ancient possessor of the pole star, formerly embedded in the coils of the dragon’s tail, Proctor wrote: “One might almost, if fancifully disposed, recognize the gradual displacement of the Dragon from his old place of honor, in certain traditions of the downfall of the great Dragon whose ‘tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven’ alluded to in Revelation 12:4.” ⁹ Once iniquity was found in Lucifer and he turned his back on the Heavenly Father, he separated himself from the source of light and life. The archaic and fallen nature of the morning star is depicted in Lucifer, while its risen victorious aspect is seen in Christ. The relationship between the dragon and the Devil casting his shadow of death is depicted not only the astronomical mechanism of the pole precession, in Job 26:13 above, but it also describes the imagery of an eclipse, as we can see below in Job 3.

Fig. 4 Draco the Dragon and the northern astronomical pole, from the Star Atlas of Hevelius. Also shown is Cepheus the Crowned King with Polaris, the pole star, placed between his feet.

The astronomical cycle of the Precession of the poles thus depicts Lucifer in his former glory in the First Heaven and Earth, as the bright and morning star in his first estate. This precessional cycle also tells us of Lucifer’s successor, the rising Morning Star-Jesus, who was already prophesied, prior to the overthrow of the world, [Eph.1:4]. It’s as if the former days of Lucifer’s brightness and splendor never existed in the eyes of God. Another example of this figure that we  studied in detail on the try-god.com website [read more] is the Eta-Draconid Meteor Showers, which preceded the first Jupiter-Regulus union in Leo, in 3 BC. This Draconid Meteor shower is a key because the radiant of the shower of stars falling to earth September 9th-11th, [read more] was one of the stars of Draco the Dragon as we have just seen above in Figure 4. This embodies the casting down of the dragon, We will see the signs of 3 BC picking up on the theme of judgment on Lucifer, once iniquity was found in him during his first estate. This imagery is found in the dual significance of the prophecy of Rev. 12 regarding the Birth of Christ, and his victorious Second Coming. In Job Chapters 2-3 we find the record of Job, after Satan has afflicted him, speaking from the depths of his sufferings, he curses his day of birth.

Job 3:4-5, 8-10
4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
⁸ May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.
⁹ May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day;
¹⁰ Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

These verses in Job make some notable connections with the shadow of death. Intriguingly, these connections both carry reference to the darkening of daylight, first seen in cloud covering, and second with the blackness of the day which ominously resembles a total Solar eclipse. Here Job links terror to the “blackness of the day,” along with those who arouse Leviathan, [Job 41] which is another manifestation of the serpent as the sea monster, linked with Cetus in Figure 3 above. This again identifies the true source of the persecution, disease and death, from the author of death, the Devil and Satan. This imagery speaks loudly as to the Biblical symbolism of eclipses as negative heavenly omens, indicative of the enemy’s persecution and war for mankind in general and Israel specifically, as the activity surrounding the Blood Moon Tetrads in history attests. The recurrent theme seen in the Blood Moon Tetrads however, is always the deliverance of the Almighty God, Whose Love for His people is ever true and unfailing.

This Solar eclipse imagery is also found at the crucifixion of Christ, as seen in the apparent period of midday darkness on April 28th, 28 AD, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. There is no indication of an eclipse that I have found on this day, but the shadow of death that stained this day was more palpable than any other in history, and the blackness of this day was certainly evident spiritually in the death of Jesus. This was turned completely around three days later, however when Christ arose as the “first fruits from the dead.” Thus, the brightness of Lucifer’s day of apparent victory was certainly turned into darkness the moment he turned away from the Almighty, original and eternal Source of Light. We are reminded of this as we look to the next Blood Moon in the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, which takes place on April 4th 2015, both Passover and Resurrection [Easter] weekend. As the third Blood Moon in this Tetrad, on Passover it commemorates not only the 10th plague of Darkness that consummated the 10 plagues of God’s judgment on Egypt leading to the Exodus, but especially God’s protection and deliverance of Israel, which freed them from their Egyptian bondage. This is the dominant theme of the Blood Moon Tetrads, that no matter what persecution the enemy produces, it always works for God’s deliverance which always improves the overall situation of faithful in Israel, and for Christians alike.

The Biblical imagery of a Total Solar Eclipse is not a good sign for Israel or the nations, as far as the persecution is concerned, especially with it taking place in the midst of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, yet we can take comfort as God’s Judgment is being carried out on our Spiritual Adversary, as God protects His people while bringing the imminent and final destruction of the Devil and Satan to pass.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Witness of the Stars  E.W. Bullinger, p. 152
2. Strong’s Concordance. James Strong, note on H8231.
3. Gospel in the Stars Joseph Seiss, p. 21
4.  Strong’s Concordance, James Strong
5. Myths and Marvels of Astronomy, Proctor