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Biblical Astronomy of the Blood Moon Tetrads and Judah Ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecies [Part 1.]

Biblical Astronomy of the Blood Moon Tetrads and Judah Ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecies [Part 1]

In our August 2015 post on the Partial Solar Eclipse; 9-13-2015, we referenced some truths regarding Israel seen as a Fig Tree in the Bible. The following section from that post provides a key foundation for this month’s post on Judah Ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecies.

Luke 21:24-33

“²⁴They will fall by ^[f]the mouth and the edge of the sword and will be led away as captives to and among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed). 25 And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.²⁸Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. ²⁹Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

Biblically, the Fig Tree is a symbol of Israel, as we will see later. As we compare the Blood Moon Tetrads in 1949-50 and 1967-68, we have noted that they are 19 years apart, but each of these Blood Moon Tetrads represent a stage in the restoration of Israel, first as a nation, second with the recapture of its capital city of Jerusalem.

The following insightful details come to us from the good people @ [360 day calendar.com]

“Why wasn’t Israel fully restored in 1948, including the temple mount?

Ans. In Ezekiel’s account of the fall of Jerusalem, God’s Spirit departs from the temple and leaves Jerusalem in specific stages (beginning 592 BC) and then comes back in stages 19 years later in 573 BC, (Ezek. 8, 40). In the same way, Israel is now being restored in stages — each stage on a time-frame predicted by the Bible. The next stage in God’s plan for Jerusalem also happened exactly 19 years after Israel became a nation in 1948: The 1967, Six-Day War.

The next stage in Israel’s restoration was the six-day war waged exactly 19 years later, to the day on the 360 calendar, June 5-10, 1967. In this war, the Temple Mount was captured along with east Jerusalem. Thus, June 5th, 1967, was also Pentecost on the 360 calendar.

But why 19 years later?

Ans. Because, from Ezekiel’s vision about the temple (573 BC) until when Israel became a nation are 1260 + 1260 years, that is 2520 years. (2520 days represents a seven-year period on the 360 calendar. {360 x 7 = 2520 days.}) Thus, 2520 plus 19 more years equals 2539. And so, from 573 BC to 1967 are 2539 years.

So, what’s important about 2539 years?

It happens that seven years on the regular Jewish calendar amounts to 2539 days in both 1948 and 1967. Thus, the seventh anniversary after Israel became a nation occurred exactly 2539 days later on the regular Jewish calendar, (i.e., 1948-1955). And the same is true of the seventh anniversary of the 1967 War, (i.e., 1967-1974). Hence, in God’s heavenly schematic, 2539 days correspond to the previous 2539 years back to the prophecy of Ezekiel in 573 BC!”1

This is an example of a Biblical Prophecy that has a dual significance that fits for both days and years. We will see another example of this when we discuss the “70 Weeks Prophecy” in Daniel 9, in Part 2 of this post next month, as it relates to the ministry of Jesus Christ among other things.

What has escaped the notice of most regarding Luke 21:24-33 is that Jesus’ prophecy relating to Jerusalem being over-run and controlled by the Gentiles, in verse 24 sets the immediate context of the astronomical signs of the Sun, Moon and Stars and the distress of the nations in verse 25. This should direct our focus on the heavenly signs surrounding the periods bracketing the Roman’s destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, because this was the inception of a period when the Jerusalem Temple was down-trodden by the Gentiles. Conversely, with Israel’s recapture of Jerusalem in 1967, followed by the events surrounding their control of the Temple Mount, we can see the first stages of God’s restoration of Israel. Since the Luni-solar eclipse cycles are part of the heavenly signs of the Sun, Moon and Stars, including the modern Blood Moon Tetrads, there should be much we can learn from the this study. More on this later.

Figure A.

Blood Moon over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

What we also see in these 360 calendar links to the history of Israel is the annual pattern of sevens or the Sabbatical/Shemitah cycle built into the 360 day calendar. This pattern has been established in detail with the Biblical septenary temporal cycles starting with the Creation Week, setting the stage for Sabbaths not to mention Jonathan Kahn’s books like ‘The Harbinger,” that has seen the first realized correlation of a Sabbatical/Shemitah cycle with the 50-year Hebrew Jubilee in the current calendar cycle of 5776/2016. The key dates in 1949-50 and 1967-68 referenced above relative to Israel’s restoration marked by the modern Blood Moon Tetrads on Hebrew Feast and Holy days, are another level of divine marking from the Hand of God, establishing the authenticity of these heavenly signs for those who are paying attention. [Gen. 1:14-18]

A key with the final Super Blood Moon of the most recent 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad is that it takes place after the Hebrew Jubilee opened on the Sept. 23rd, 2015. This gets our attention since the Super Blood Moon was the first Blood Moon of the 2014-2015 Tetrad visible in Jerusalem. As we correlate with the two previous Jubilees in 1917 and 1967, we find an intriguing history where in 1917, Jerusalem was liberated from the Ottoman Turks under General Allenby, just a few weeks after the Balfour Declaration promised Israel a homeland. Since this date in Dec. 1917 represents a prophetic time span of Shemitah cycles [360 x 7] totaling 2,520 years going back to 604 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, leading Israel away into the Babylonian Captivity. During this campaign, General Allenby’s planes buzzed Jerusalem with numerous fly-overs, dropping surrender leaflets on the Ottoman forces, causing the Turks to “wave the white flag” without casualty. As Isaiah tells us regarding the way Jerusalem would be delivered;

Isaiah 31:4b-5: “so shall the Lord of Hosts come down to fight for Mt. Zion and for the hill thereof, As birds flying, so will the Lord of Hosts defend Jerusalem; defending, also He will deliver it; and passing over, He will preserve it.”

In the details of this deliverance we can see the Hand of the Almighty working to fulfill this promise, even in the motto inscribed on the badge of the bomber squadron chosen to liberate Jerusalem which read: “I spread my wings and keep my promise.” This Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps took Jerusalem “as flying birds” and defended it, and passing over it, preserved it, fulfilling every detail of this prophecy.

With this backgroundsetting the context for this post, lets now consider the Judah Ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecies. Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel lived during the time of the Roman/Christian Crusades in the Holy Land between 1096-1270 AD. It was during this time that Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel began publishing his “Jubilee Prophecies,” with added Gematria calculations, and astronomical observations, summarized on the internet today. As news traveled between the Holy Land and Europe found its way to the rabbis and the clergy in Worms and Regensburg Germany, the good Rabbi walked many of the same steps as Martin Luther 300 years later, as he lead the Reformation against the Roman Catholic Church in the “Diet at Worms.“ A synopsis of the Rabbi’s prophecies is found below-

“When the Ottomans (Turks) – who were already a power to be reckoned with on the Bosporus in the time of Judah Ben Samuel – conquer Jerusalem they will rule over Jerusalem for eight Jubilees. Afterwards, Jerusalem will become no-man’s land for one Jubilee, and then in the ninth Jubilee it will once again come back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which would signify the beginning of the Messianic end time.”2 Leviticus 25, tells us every 50 year Jubilee period each person regains ownership of their lands. As Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel beheld the future, his predictions today seem to be amazingly accurate. It was over 3 centuriesfollowing his death however, before his first prediction came to pass. The current Jubilee of 5776/2016 is a special hybrid of Shemitah/Jubilee cyclesthat coincides with the conclusion of Judah Ben Samuel’s 10th Jubilee marking the Messianic End Times.

Picture credit from September2021.com [3.]

Although Judah Ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecies are extra-Biblical in nature, they embody another key historical layer of verification in the divine patterns of these signs of the last days, as seen in the 50-year Hebrew Jubilee. The veracity of these prophecies has been questioned, but when viewed in the context of the existing pattern of sacred Hebrew calendars of the Shemitah/Sabbath and Jubilees, along with the Hebrew Feast and Holy days marked by the modern Blood Moon Tetrads about which Judah Ben Samuel referenced nothing in his writings, they gain added credibility.

Ludwig Schneider of Israel Today Magazine translated Judah Ben Samuel’s (1140-1217) writings into English. “…According to his article, Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel was a scholar of the Talmud in Germany. Just before he died in the year 1217 he predicted that the Ottoman Turks would rule over the holy city of Jerusalem for eight Jubilees, or 400 years (8 x 50). The Ottoman Turks did take control of Jerusalem 300 years after the Rabbi’s death in 1517 and according to the prophecy, the Ottoman Turks then lost Jerusalem 4 centuries later in 1917. It was during WWI that British General Edmund Allenby walked into Jerusalem on Hanukkah without firing a shot in 1917. This event falling on Hanukkah and the ease in which it took place, make this moment of history very notable. Judah Ben Samuel’s prophecy also said following the eighth Jubilee, the ninth Jubilee would find Jerusalem a no-man’s-land, which it was from 1917 to 1967, until the Six-Day-War. The Rabbi then predicted in the 10th Jubilee-Jerusalem would be controlled by Israel and then the Messianic end times would begin. The completion of this Tenth Jubilee brings us to the year 2017.” It is critical to realize that at the conclusion of this 10th Jubilee in 2017, we also will see the repeat of the Rev. 12 heavenly signs marking the Birth of Christ in 3 BC. Jubilee 11: Begins at Yom Kippur 9/30/17, marking a potential predicted period for the return of Christ.4

From the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917-during the 1917-1918 Jubilee, to the retaking of the Western Wall during the 1966-1967 Jubilee, to the current Jubilee from September 2015 to the fall of 2016, God is at work restoring His Blessings to Israel in stages. The Temple Mount seems the next logical stage of this restoration process, perhaps even during the current Jubilee.

In Israel’s War of Independence against five Islamic nations, the Jerusalem remained a “divided city.” The Jordanian government controlled the eastern part of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem. A strip of land divided Israeli control of Western Jerusalem and Jordanian run East Jerusalem. This strip of land was called “No-Man’s Land” by both Israelis and Jordanians. After the 6-Day War, on June 17, 1967, the Israeli Army controlled the entire West Bank and all of Jerusalem was returned to their possession, 750 years after Judah Ben Samuel made this prediction, these events fulfilled all the conditions of the prophecy. Then came the Rabbi’s last piece of his prediction:

“In the ninth Jubilee, Jerusalem will once again come back into the possession of the Jewish nation – which will signify the beginning of the Messianic end time.”

As we have already seen with our opening verses in Luke 21:24-33, Jesus’ prophecy relating to Jerusalem being over-run by the Gentiles sets the context for the heavenly signs of the Sun, Moon and Stars of the end times. Scholars and Blood Moon enthusiasts have focused on the luni-solar signs, but have neglected their relation to Jerusalem. To understand this better, lets look at added evidence of this in Joel 2 setting the table for Joel 3.

Joel 2:30-32

³⁰And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. ³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. ³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

This is one of the main “Blood Moon Prophecies” that occurs prior to the victorious return of the Lord, both FOR and WITH his Saints. These verses at the end of Joel 2 provide the immediate context for the prophecy relating to Jerusalem and the Gog-Magog alliance of Gentile nations we can see gathering around Jerusalem setting the stage for coming final battle of Armageddon at the start of Joel 3.

Joel 3:1-2

1 “For behold, in those [climactic] days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
²I will gather together all the [Gentile] nations [that were hostile to My people]
And bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat (the Lord has judged).
And there I will deal with them and enter into judgment with them there
For [their treatment of] My people, My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations,
And [because] they have encroached on My land and divided it up.

The sensational focus on the Blood Moon phenomena, not only in Christianity but also in the secular media, has detracted from the reason for the Blood Moon Tetrads in the first place, which is the disposition of Jerusalem and specifically the Temple Mount that determines the final stages of God’s deliverance of Israel and the Church-the Body of Christ. The fact that we have completed the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, and now find ourselves in the Shemitah/Jubilee of 5776/2016 with two more solar and lunar eclipses on Hebrew Feast-holidays, indicates that we are in a final period forewarningof the victorious Return of the Lord Jesus Christ, closing out world history.

The “Jubilee/Shemitah for Jerusalem that we find ourselves in today, depicts a level of God’s restoration of Israel in response to the Gentile domination of Jerusalem starting in 70 AD when Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans who destroyed the Temple. As Joel 3:2 relates the persecution of Israel where the Jews were either killed, starved, or sold into slavery. This ensued in centuries of the Gentiles over-running Jerusalem starting with the Romans, followed by Muslimforces, including the Ottoman Turks predicted by Judah Ben Samuel, who held it until 1917 when the Allied Forces under General Allenby delivered the Holy city. Calculating from 1917, the next Jubilee would be 1967 a half century later! If we start with the return of Jerusalem to Israeli controlin 1967 making 1966 the 49th Shemitah. The next Jubilee = (7 cycles of 7 Years = 49): 1966 + 7 x 7= 2015. Since 70 AD, Old Jerusalem was not under Israeli sovereignty until the one week war with Egypt in 1967. This makes the liberation of Jerusalem on June 7, 1967 a key pivotal point in modern Bible history and Prophecy marking a specific critical period of the End Times.

In the Declaration of Balfour Nov 2, 1917, British Foreign Minister Balfour pledged support for establishment of a “Jewish national home in Palestine.” During this 1917-18 Jubilee, there were other heavenly signs and planetary conjunctions taking place that tell related parts of the story of the restoration of Jerusalem and Israel. As we observe the movements of the planet Mars during this period, more truths come to light. The retrograde motion of Mars representing the Warrior Archangel Michael who fights for God’s people, moved in conjunction with Regulus the king star in Leo. This depicts the conflict surrounding God’s restoration of His people, versus our spiritual enemy and adversary who stands against God’s purposes at every turn. This Mars retrograde began in Leo then progressing into the head of Virgo, came back to Leo, depicting the Celestial Sphinx seen in the body of Leo the lion and the head of the woman Virgo, symbolizing Israel’s restoration. The Celestial Sphinx as seen below follows the structure of the Great Sphinx on the Giza Plateau. There is more regarding this subject of the Celestial Sphinx available with our “Dendera Zodiac Poster,” available for order in our Bookstore link seen in the right margin adjacent to this post of our blog page.

In addition to marking the start and close of the celestial canon, the Great Sphinx mirrors the binding of Scripture together from Genesis to Revelation, as seen in the references to Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah in both Gen. 49:8-10 and Rev. 5:5, the first and last books of the Bible. Another indicator of the central importance of these stellar aspects of the Great Sphinx, is that our recognition of the Celestial Sphinx, Virgo and Leo the lion provide the basis for the signs of the triple union of Jupiter-Regulus in Leo, in 3 BC related to Gen. 49:8-10. This is a foundation key linking the Sphinx bothto the celestial witness and God’s Word, in their unified testimony to the Coming Promised Seed.

To continue this sub-theme of Hebrew Jubilee planetary conjunctions of Mars during its retrograde motion, we find added evidence of this during the 1967 Jubilee, in between the Blood Moons on Passover [4-24-67] and Sukkot [10-18-67]. This Mars retrograde formed a loop in Virgo, around her womb area starting March 10th through June 24th. During this loop it approached conjunction with the Alpha Star of Virgo-Spica on June 6th, completing its loop around Virgo’s womb a couple of weeks later. This represents again the conflict surrounding God’s deliverance of Jerusalem from our spiritual adversary, as the city of Jerusalem was wrested from Gentile domination, seen in the rebirth of Jerusalem for Israel. This planetary activity during the previous two Jubilees depicting the restoration of Israel with Mars-Michael is a fascinating lead-up to the to 2017 Jubilee, when Jupiter the king planet and Holy Sceptre, will do a retrograde loop in Virgo’s womb area, symbolizing the birth of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, emphasized here with the Mars-Spica conjunction.

Figure B. The Celestial Sphinx. 5

As we view the celestial context of this first union of Jupiter and Regulus, [Fig. B] marking the birth of Christ, we can see the head of Virgo rising above the eastern horizon just below the full body of Leo the Lion on the ecliptic. This is the view of what an observer standing near Palestine facing east would have seen on this date, providing a clear aspect of the astronomical symbolism of the Sphinx as an important marker and monumental prediction of Jesus‘ birthday on September 11th, a prophecy of the birth of Christ preserved in stone from antiquity! This serves as a monolithic marker to the prophecy provided in Rev. 12:1-5, in the constellation Virgo, further establishing this truth.

The Head of the Woman and the Body of the Lion as seen on Sept. 14th, 3 BC, on the eastern horizon from Palestine, the Celestial Sphinx, and marking the first Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction in Leo, 3 days after the birth of Christ on Sept. 11th 3 BC, [Tishri 1]; Rosh Hashanah. We find these landmarks at the head and tail of the zodiac, which adds light to “the woman Virgo is the crown for all twelve signs. The head position of Virgo is located within the last 10 degrees of Leo.” Virgo’s head is seen in Fig. B, just below and adjacent to the star Denebola in the tail of the Lion, unifying the circle of the zodiac. The Sphinx also unifies the Biblical canon, establishing the chronological order of God’s written revelation, in the Bible’s earliest book of Job 19:23-25.

Footnotes

1. www.1260-1290-days-bible-prophecy.org [www.360 calendar .com]

2. See more at: http://destination-yisrael.biblesearchers.com/destination-yisrael/2012/12/rabbi-judah-ben-samuels-jubilee-prophecy-gives-the-year-of-the-messiah.html#sthash.KkE3oERL.dpuf

3. September2021.com [Phil Richardson] Picture credit

4. Israel Today Magazine, Ludwig Schneider [March 2008] http://issuu.com/ryaninzion/docs/israel_today_march_2008

5. Try-god.com/the great sphinx

http://jardalkalataol.blogspot.com/2015/09/feast-dates-and-second-coming-and.html

Http://www.lmci.org/pdfs/episkoposmar2012.pdf

Biblical Astronomy of the Mercury Transit on May 9th, 2016

Biblical Astronomy of the Mercury Transit on May 9th, 2016.

The following excerpt from our March Blog post on the Purim Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on March 23rd, 2016; provides an important basis upon which to begin this post.

“The key heavenly signs in March of 2016 began with a Total Solar Eclipse on March 9th. This March 9th New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse, actually aligned March 9th-with Nisan 1, followed only 2 weeks later by a Nisan 14 Passover Lunar Eclipse on March 23rd!”1 These celestial alignments were based on the Barley harvest in Israel that was not only verified as ripe, but also in plentiful enough supply from multiple accredited sources not to add the extra 13th month of Adar 2 to the Hebrew Calendar in 2016/5776. This gives us a Lunar Eclipse Sextet from 2014-2016, falling on key Hebrew Feast days of Nisan 1, Passover, Rosh Hashana and the Feast of Tabernacles over a 3 year period. In this special year 5776 on the Hebrew Calendar, the 50-year Jubilee is being celebrated. With this in mind we should pay close attention to the 50 days that Israel counts between Passover and Pentecost. It is during this period just prior to Pentecost that the Transit of Mercury, takes place on May 9th 2016.

This Mercury Transit will be seen in the Solar sight line between Aries and the Pleiades of Taurus. The planet Mercury has the fastest orbit around the Sun of all planets in our Solar System-only 88 days. This translates into a Mercury alignment between the Earth and Sun on at least 3 occasions annually. However, Mercury’s orbit rarely leads to a direct alignment, taking place an average of twice every 10 years, and only during the months of November or May. Norton’s Star Atlas tells us concerning Mercury Transits; “the November variety is more common, repeating at intervals of 7, 13 and 46 years. May transits recur at intervals of 13 and 46 years. In the 21st century a Mercury Transit took place on May 7, 2003, followed by another Mercury Transit on Wednesday, Nov 8th, 2006.”2 Below is a NASA video of Mercury transiting across the face of the Sun. “This transit began at 2:12 pm EST (11:12 am PST) lasting for almost five hours. Good views of this transit were available all along the Pacific Rim:”3

What did it look like? A picture is worth a thousand words:

Image credit: Larry Koehn. Click to view the Sun’s full disk.

During the transit, Mercury’s tiny disk—jet black and perfectly round—glided slowly across the face of the Sun. Only a speck of the Sun’s surface is actually covered, so as with all Mercury Transits the Sun remains as dangerous as ever to look at. But with a proper filter and a little imagination, Transits of Mercury can be a marvelous experience. The next one after the upcoming May 9, 2016 transit; will be on November 11, 2019.”4 The length of the line traversed by the planet in its passage across the Sun’s disk determines the duration of a transit, which can last for up to 9 hours, as seen in the graphic below pertaining to this 2006 event 10 years ago.

If its orbit were exactly in the plane of the ecliptic, Mercury would transit the Sun once in each Synodic revolution. But since its orbit is inclined 7 degrees to the ecliptic, the planet usually passes above or below the Sun as seen from the Earth. A transit occurs only when Mercury is near one of its nodes at inferior conjunction. The ascending node relates to the position of the Earth on November 10, the descending node to the position on May 8. If inferior conjunction falls near one of these dates, Mercury will be seen as a tiny black spot, 10 – 12 arc–seconds wide, moving slowly across the face of the Sun.”5

There is an interesting correlation between the March 23rd/Nisan 14 Passover Penumbral Lunar Eclipse and the May 9th Mercury Transit between Aries and the Pleiades of Taurus, because in Biblical Astronomy, Aries
reflects the ultimate and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Passover, one of the Christ’s 7 Ministry Titles that we noted in our previous April blog post. Aries’ Alpha star [Al Nath] the brightest of its 66 main stars, means the wounded or slain one. Although the 5th consecutive Lunar eclipse on a Hebrew Holy day from 2014-2016, on Nisan 14 is not a Blood Moon, it links to the day the priests of Israel selected the Passover Lamb. Thus we find another element of the OT Law fulfilled by Christ in this pivotal 1-time sacrifice for all mankind. As the Feast of Unleavened Bread follows Passover we can see Jesus Christ-as the Firstborn in heaven not only resulting from his resurrection, but also in his Gathering of the spiritual body of his Church of resurrected believers out of the Age of Grace, [Ps. 2:6-8, I Cor. 15:20-23].6 We also find this reference to this Pleiades symbolism below.

The renowned cluster of stars called the Pleiades. according to Bullinger means the congregation of the judge or ruler. In the Septuagint the translation of the Hebrew כִּימָה, Chima, meaning the heap or accumulation, as in [Job 9:9; 38:31, 32,] and Amos 5:8. It consists of a cluster of stars (in the neck of Taurus) appearing near together. The brightest of them, marked η in all the maps,59 has come down to us with an Arabic name—Al Cyone, which means the centre. The Syriac name for the Pleiades is Succoth, meaning booths.”7 This provides a very interesting relation to the Feast of Tabernacles that includes the Day of Atonement, where Christ the High Priest is Tabernacled as the ruler among the gathering of his congregation, as the only true mediator between God and man. During this time of the Blood Moon Tetrad we can see other related Mercury sky signs, for example in April 2015 which saw the Passover Blood Moon and Nova Sagittarii, we noted a conjunction of Mercury and Mars in Aries on the 22nd. In addition to this there was an alignment of Mercury with the Pleiades on June 20th in 2015. These 2015 Mercury signs provide an interesting context to the Mercury Transit of 2016, as the Arch-Angel Gabriel, heralds the sky signs leading to Christ’s return.

As these sky signs of 2016 including the Lunar Eclipse Sextet of 2014-2016 and the May 9th, Mercury Transit set the stage for a replay of the birth signs of Jesus Christ from Rev.12 in September of 2017, we can see other activities of Mercury during this period. We should keep in mind that the replay of these birth signs of Christ in 2017 including Jupiter the King Planet and Royal Sceptre being birthed in Virgo on 9/9/17, after spending a “gestation period” in retrograde motion in Virgo’s mid-section. This is interesting when we consider the retrograde motion of Mercury leading to this, because in Sept. 2015 during the culmination of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we saw the [Sun clothing Virgo with the Moon at her feet] on Sept. 17th 2015, along with the Sept. 17th [Mercury-Spica union in Virgo]. This occurs 2 years prior to the Sept. 2017 replay of the birth signs of Christ which will be followed by the Sept. 30th, 2017, lowest point retrograde motion of Mercury in Virgo. On 10/29/15 Mercury was also birthed in Virgo after a gestation period of nearly six weeks. This shows many ways in which the Archangel Mercury-Gabriel is announcing the the victorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ as seen in Rev. 19 below.

Rev. 19:1-21

19 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: ²for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his ^[a]servants at her hand.

³And a second time they ^[b]say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goes up^[c]for ever and ever. ⁴And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sits on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. ⁵And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his ^[d]servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.

This awesome audible Voice from Heaven announces the Lord Jesus Christ returning WITH his Saints to destroy the beast, false prophet and those who will follow them at the battle of Armageddon. This opens the Age of Christ with the destruction of the Anti-Christ and his kingdom.

¹¹And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon ^[g]called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹²And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. ¹³And he is arrayed in a garment ^[h]sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. ¹⁵And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the ^[i]winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

¹⁷And I saw ^[j]an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; ¹⁸that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of ^[k]captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.

This Mercury Transit has been likened to verse 17 since the planet Mercury symbolizes the Messenger Archangel Gabriel. The transit of Mercury crossing the face of the Sun is seen as this angel Gabriel “standing in the Sun” heralding the victorious return of the Light of the World and King of Kings, even as he announced the coming Promised Seed of Mary leading to his birth, [Lk. 1:26-38, Matt. 1:20-25]. This alignment of sky signs including the Lunar Eclipse Sextet from 2014-2016 in the Jubilee Year of 5776 may signal a window for the Savior to return FOR his Saints that bookends the first appearance and return of the King of Kings at the right hand of God.

¹⁹And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that ^[l]worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: ²¹and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

As we keep a watch on the activities of Mercury-Gabriel this year, we will have plenty of celestial pointers to keep us aware of the Victorious Return of Christ.

Footnotes

1. Purim Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on March 23rd, 2016 [Blog.try-god.org] March 2016 archive
2. Norton’s Star Atlas, Arthur P. Norton
3. science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/20oct_transitofmercury/
4. IBID
5. Norton’s Star Atlas, Arthur P. Norton
6. Seminar on the Lord Jesus Christ, Jon Nessle
7. Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger
8. Passover Blood Moon and Nova Sagittarii [Blog.try-god.org] April 2015 archive
9. Revelation 19, KJV

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

Biblical Astronomy of the January-February 2016 Planetary Alignment

Could the rare alignment of the five brightest planets in our Solar System; Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars seen on the horizon over the next month, be related to the Biblical heavenly signs surrounding, the Star of Bethlehem? These five planets will be visible to stargazers in the pre-dawn skies from Jan. 20th through Feb. 20th, 2016. There has not been a similar alignment of these five planets since 2004, but for the proper context of this year’s planetary quintuplet, there are many intriguing points to consider in light of previous recent planetary alignments leading up to this planetary alignment. As the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 was wrapping up late last Summer into the Fall, there is a 1 degree Triangular massing of Jupiter-Venus, Mars in Leo on October 28th,2015, which is preceded earlier in the month with a planetary alignment with Regulus in Leo, [see Figure 1 below]. This is significant due to its resemblance to the Rev. 12 heavenly sign marking the birth of Christ, we have discussed in previous posts on this blog.

Rev. 12:1-2
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

In Fig. 1 below we can see how the alignment of three planets in Leo forms the crown of the Woman–Virgo with 12 stars, consisting of the 9 fixed stars in Leo, combined with the planets Jupiter, Venus and Mars, forming the Crown of 12 stars over Virgo’s head. A very similar planetary alignment will be seen again in Sept. of 2017, [Figure 2.] involving the same players, with the exception that Mercury will replace Jupiter in Leo, since Jupiter will be birthing in Virgo’s midsection. The planetary alignment in 2015, serves as key celestial foreshadowing 2 years prior to this birthing of Jupiter in Virgo, when these heavenly signs that marked the birth of Christ will be repeated in the Fall of 2017. As we will see, this month’s planetary alignment of five shows another sign along the path leading us to the heavenly signs of 2017.

Figure 1. Planetary Alignment in Leo, October 3rd, 2015

As there were 3 Jupiter-Venus Conjunctions marking the Rev. 12 birth signs of Christ in 3-2 BC, so this triple alignment of Jupiter-Mars, and Venus in Leo with Regulus, reflects a similar spiritual light in the context of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014–2015. In fact the Rev. 12 heavenly sign: the [Sun clothing Virgo with the Crescent Moon at her feet] on Sept. 17th, 2015 is announced by Mercury-Gabriel located just outside the womb area of Virgo, united with Spica/Al Zimach, on this day 2 years ahead of the rewind of the Great Wonder in Heaven, on Sept. 23rd 2017! Thus we can not only view this first planetary parade of five in 2016, but also the second alignment of these five planets in August of 2016, as added heavenly signs involving Jupiter-Venus opening the next 2 years, leading up to the birthing of Jupiter in retrograde motion in Virgo’s womb in 2017.

Best seen before dawn, the brightness of Venus and Jupiter make the event easier to find whether by the naked eye or binoculars. With Jupiter rising first, and the red-hued Mars next, golden-tainted Saturn, followed by Venus the brightest planet and lastly Mercury. Jupiter rises first as night falls early in these winter evenings, followed by Mars after midnight, before Saturn, Venus and Mercury join the conga line. Their timing will vary each day depending on observers location. Mercury will be closest to the eastern horizon, which is why it is the last to appear low in the sky, Mercury however should be more visible starting the first week of February. The waning Moon will also shed its lunar light among these five aligned planets partially occulting Jupiter on Jan. 27th, continuing it trek through the planets on the ecliptic till Feb. 6, 2016.

Does this planetary alignment tell a story? If so what does it mean? Biblical Astronomy does relate a narrative in the stars and constellations which hold them, as the planets pass through the 12 houses on the ecliptic, [Ps. 19]. Each of the 12 main signs of the zodiac relates to one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and the star pictures of the constellations each tell a different aspect of the story of the Coming Redeemer-Jesus Christ, [Gen. 49]. Also, each of the planets or “wandering stars” have their own Biblical symbolism, for example Mercury is Gabriel the fleet Messenger Archangel, appearing in Sagittarius depicting Christ as the victorious returning Conqueror, winning the war in heaven as his arrow pierces the heart of the scorpion–Scorpius. This theme is established not only with Mercury’s presence in the head of Sagittarius, but Venus the Bright and Morning Star is also seen on top the Archer’s Bow, doubly emphasizing the Lord’s speedy Return. Since this rare planetary alignment is taking place after the completion of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, the Victorious Return of Christ FOR his Saints can surely occur at any time-Are You Ready? Saturn is Satan’s planet in Ophiuchus/Scorpius, the scorpion, symbolizing the Redeemer’s conflict with the enemy. Satan knows he is defeated and that his time is very short, but he will never stop fighting against God, His only begotten Son, the Church and Israel because of his hatred for the Light that defines is very existence.

Figure 2. Sagittarius [Ps. 45:3-5]

We can’t ignore the Sun in Capricorn, as the atoning sacrifice of the Light of the World, that truly is the only Hope of our dark and perverse world, increasingly run by the enemy and his minions. We owe our very lives not only in this world, but also in the coming new age, all to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ who gave himself for us when we were dead in sin. Mars the red planet-signifies on one hand, Michael the Warrior Archangel doing battle with the enemy, but it can also symbolize the Savior’s shed blood, which seems a better fit with the atoning work of the redeemer seen in Libra’s balances, which portray the Savior paying the price to purchase us back from sin, and the enemy slave-master holding us in bondage. Thus we can see a consistent theme with Mars in Libra and the Sun in Capricorn with this planetary alignment. Jupiter also appears in Leo in this rare alignment of planets, as the King planet presides in the ruling house of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, [Rev. 5:5]. This shows the ultimate power of the regal Lion-King as he puts down the rebellion of the serpent-scorpion once and for all, utterly destroying the enemy under his feet, seen in Leo’s claws rending Hydra-the serpent destroyed! [Isa. 27:1]

Thus the message of this planetary alignment fits with our quickly returning and conquering Lord, and our preparation for that great day! These same five planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will appear together again this summer between the 13th & 19th of August, 2016 but “Mercury and Venus will be positioned low in the western sky at dusk, not easily seen from the northern hemisphere.

When this heavenly sign of the five brightest sentinels of our solar system in their planetary alignment is taken in the context of the concluded Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we certainly have more than enough evidence in a mandate from heaven, telling us of the speedy and inevitable Return of the Lord Jesus Christ! As we overcome the increasing evil of this world, with the Lord’s Good, as he showed in his fathomless Love, we will surely show ourselves as Children of Light.

Sources

1. The Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger
2. Earth and Sky
3. solarsystem.nasa.gov [picture credit]
4. 2015 Sky & Telescope [picture credit]