Joshua’s Long Day and the birth of the King’s Son.

Our recent study of the Astronomical Miracle of Joshua’s Long Day, in the context of Jon Nessle’s OT History Class [Session 15] has opened some of the in-depth ramifications of the events related to this Bible record, as presented by Rev. Nessle, Ren Manetti and myself. This blog, picks up where my teaching on Chapter 3, Session 15b left off in OT History Class; The Eclipse and the Great Pyramid. We will start this initial blog of 2023 with a brief review of our Nov. 2022 blog on Joshua’s Long Day, focusing on how the key Hebrew words for the Sun and Moon standing still [dom and amad] are in this context held figuratively as synonymous. In this Jan. 2023 blog, we will see more on how this relates to the Great Pyramid, along with Jesus as the King’s Son. We will begin with some related comments and word studies below for further study, on Josh. 10 & Hab. 3 from our previous blog for context, to see where that leads us…

Habakkuk 3:11:
The sun and moon stood still in their habitationAt the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.

Sun and moonstand still’ on high (ʿāmad zəbūlâ) / as Your arrows fly in brightness, Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The connection between this poetic source in the book of Habakkuk and the story of the miracle in the book of Joshua is clear and has been accepted by many interpreters throughout the ages.21 However, the syntax of the first line of the verse and the meaning of the word zəbūlâ posed major problems for them.22 Zəbūl in this verse is usually interpreted as the name of a sanctuary, throne, or platform for a god.23 The noun zəbūl appears four times in the Bible in addition to this passage in Habakkuk.24 In Isa 63:15, it clearly refers to a place high in the heavens where God usually dwells and from which He looks down on the earth. This is similar to one of the meanings of the Ugaritic term zbl; sometimes interpreted as the throne of a divine being in the heavens.25 The construction bêth zəbūl appears in Solomon’s speech at the temple’s dedication in 1 Kings 8:13 and its parallel in 2 Chr 6:2, 26 In this speech, scholars distinguish two parts: the first part, consisting of the opening two verses, 12–13, in which the construct bêth zəbūl appears; and the second, longer part, comprising the remainder of the speech from verse 14 to verse 53. 1

The authors continue with comments related to King Solomon’s building the first Temple to the true God, with the “additional words in the Greek text that constitute the first colon of a parallelism, with “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness” (v. 12) constituting the second cola. This extra line in the LXXSeptuagint includes added information that can contribute meaningfully to our topic, since it includes a reference to the sun: “Then Solomon said [concerning the house when he finished building it: He (the LORD) revealed the sun in the sky;] 28 the Lord has chosen to abide in thick clouds.” This shows that bêth zəbūl in the next verse corresponds to the place in the sky where the sun dwells. 2

Plate 1. Total Solar Eclipse North of Canaan on July 14th, 1405. 3

The solar eclipse of 1405 BC with the blue band showing the zone of totality. 

In our previous Nov. 2022 blog we presented evidence for the Miracle of Joshua’s Long Day as a Total Solar eclipse, specifically the solar eclipse of July 14th, 1405 BC, visible over Canaan. We will expand on this idea in this study, especially the idea linked to the Hebrew words for the “Sun and Moonstand still’ on high (ʿāmad zəbūlâ) in Josh. 10:12 and Hab. 3:11. The comment above in  reference to “Zəbūl in this verse usually interpreted as the name of a sanctuary, throne, or platform for a god,” is an idea we will expand on, in light of Scripture and Hebrew culture. In Jewish life, the Tabernacle and Temple embodied the center of their spiritual and social life activities. This sanctuary and Holy place where the people interacted with Priests and Prophets, that ministered to the Almighty in the Holy of Holies, responding to the oracles of God’s Covenant with Israel, also included the King, and whether or not his administration followed the godly ordinances, doing good or evil in God’s sight, fits with Zəbūl above being interpreted as the name of a sanctuary, throne, or platform for a god. What is interesting is the link to the Sun and Moon here, since the state of light or darkness was dependent on how the king ruled to uphold God’s Covenant for Israel.

It is interesting that Christ as the King of kings embodies the light of God as the apex of the royal line, and consummation of the kings of Israel in the Davidic Dynasty as the Lion of Judah. As Mal. 4:2 statesBut unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wingsrefers to Jesus Christ, who embodied more of God’s names than any other. In this light, we will investigate the references to the king’s coronation process, and their implications below, as found in the records in Kings & Chronicles.

This is consistent with a comparison of this verse to Josh 10:13: zəbūl in Hab 3:11 seems to parallel the “midheaven” (ḥaṣî haššāmayim) in Joshua.30 The second part of the speech expresses a clear underlying view that the earthly temple is not intended to be the dwelling place of God, but only the place where His name dwells.31 As explained in detail in the speech, people will pray to God facing the earthly temple in Jerusalem, and God will hear their prayer from His dwelling in heaven.32 The concept of zəbūl as a divine place in the heavens is found in a non-biblical scroll from Qumran in which “the holy zəbūl (of God)” is the place of the angels33 and the location from which the two great luminaries come. 4

Echoes of the view that the sun has a home are found in the Bible; See Ps 19:5–7. The root bwʾ, “come,” refers to the disappearance of the sun over the western horizon, and the root yṣʾ, “go out,” refers to its appearance in the east (Gen 19:23; Judg 5:31; Isa 13:10). That is also the “location” of the sun in Eccl 1:5, as rising and setting points on the Horizon. It may even be that gebūrātô, “its might,” in “the sun precisely, the entry of the sun god into his heavenly palace, means that the sun has gone dark. [under the earth at night] This can also represent the collective temple of the Sun/Son of God moving on the ecliptic through the 12 Houses/Tribes/ Apostles of Israel as the head/apex and capstone of the Great Pyramid. [See Figs 1 & 3 below]

The word zebul/zebula is interpreted as the name of a sanctuary, throne, or platform for a god,
it is fitting Biblically that bêth zəbūl appears in Solomon’s speech at the Temple’s dedication in Jerusalem in 1 Kings 8:13, 27, 42. As a reflection and earthly representation of God’s true temple in Heaven, it embodies the physical and spiritual light of God, the Father of Lights for all Creation, the main two being the Sun and Moon. The interrelation between these primary two sources of light on earth is witnessed in the eclipse cycle, which is the subject of Joshua’s Long Day, also in Hab. 3:11. The Word study below includes the main related roots alongside dom, of amad H59755976amad,
5977omed, and H5982-ammud. We will start with Scriptural references of amad H5975, as follows;

The word translated stand still in [Josh. 10:12-13Hab. 3:11 is amad H5975prime root to stand, lit./fig. trans & intrans. also abide, appoint, arise, cease, confirm, continue, dwell, endure, estab. leave, make ordain, be over, place, present one, raise up, remain, repair, set forth, settle over, settle up, stand; by, firm, fast, still, stay, tarry.]  31:17 ‘are these evils not on us because our God is not among us?’-as in our day… TODAY! Josh 3:16- the waters of Jordan parted [stood up] so Israel could walk into the Promised Land. Josh. 11:13. A. To stand before a king, ie. serve, minister; Gen. 41:46,-Joseph serving Pharaoh as Grand Vizier. Deut. 1:38, Joshua, who stood beforeserved Moses with Caleb as the only two who entered the Promised Land, from the wilderness; I Kgs. 1:28, 10:8, Dan. 1:4-5, minister to Jehovah, used of Prophets, I Kgs. 17:1, 18:15, Jer. 15:19, Judg. 20:28, Ps. 134:1, a Psalm of Degrees. Levi18:23a. Princes of the 12 tribes set over anyone-used of men; Gen. 24:303141:17, [in Pharoah’s dream interpreted by Joseph, He stood upon the riverbank…out of which came the 7 cattle] and inanimate things, Num. 7:2, b. confide in anyone, Stand by or defend one, as by Michael, the ArchangelDan. 12:1-4, Esth. 8:11, 9:16. The Jews stood unified vs. Haman’s genocide plot2. to Stand For, Stand Firm, remain, endureStehen bleiben, Ps. 33:11, Jehovah’s decrees stand forever, Ps. 102:25-27, the heavens shall perish, but God remains, Ex. 18:23, Amos 2:15, Hos. 10:9, Esth. 3:4-6, Stand firm in battle before anyone. Josh. 21:44, there stood not a man of all their enemies before them. 23:9, Ecc. 4:12, Dan. 11:8, 15, 25. Persist, persevere in anything. Ecc. 8:3,
To be constituted, set, appointed, Ezr. 10:14, let our rulers be appointed.

To desist from anything, leave off, Gen. 29:35, 30:9. 4. To Stand up, arise, Dan. 12:1, 13, a new prince; AC, Dan. 8:23, 25, 11:2, 3, 20, Ecc. 4:15, of war springing up, 1 Chron. 20:4, rise up against anyone, Dan. 11:14, 1Chron. 21:1, Satan stood up against Israel to provoke David to do a census of the population. Levi. 19:16 No Talebearing5.  Dan. 11:31. A/C in AntiochusactionsHiphil, a. Cause to stand, Ps. 31:9, Ezek. 33:26,-[take your stand leaning upon your swords, the posture taken by Necromancers waiting for the rites, of witchcraft. Isa. 47:12, marginal Bull-note]. Ezek. 13:5-7, False Prophets of Israel didn’t resist or stand firm. Ps. 76:8, 130:3; a Psalm of the degrees, 147:17, Nah. 1:68, [Nahum served c. 603 BC in Hezekiah’s 14th year of living the prophecy of the 15 years added to his life, prior to the eclipse over Nineveh preceding Jonah-possibly relating to Nah. v.8 darkness pursuing their enemies?

The sea becomes tranquil, Jon. 1:15, cp. 2 Kgs 4:6; miracle oil in the cruse endured for the widow. Levi 14:11-20. Priest presented [caused to stand] the leper to be cleansed before the Lord @ the door of Tabernacle of Congregation, w/proper offerings for his cleansing & atonement. Fig. to decree, 2 Chron. 30:5, 33:8; to destine/promise anyone, impose a law on anyone, Neh. 10:33, Seat in office or function: 1 Kgs. 12:32, made priests of the lowest of the people. I Chron. 15:16. David speaks to the Chief Levites to appoint musicians like Asaph in the Temple service. 2. To cause to stand firm, establish, endure, preserve, 1 Kgs. 15:4, 2 Chron. 9:8, Prov. 29:4, to confirm; 2 Chron. 35:2, Dan. 11:14, confirm the vision by the event. 3. Stand Still, 2 Chron. 18:34, 4. Raise, to set up as idols; 2 Chron. 33:19, a house, Ezr. 2:68, 9:9, to repair the wall and house of the Lord. to arouse, stir up, Neh. 6:7, Dan. 11:11, 13. Hophal; to be set, placed, Levi 16:10, the goat on which the lot fell… to remain, 1 Kgs. 22:35.

 2Kgs. 23:3, the king stood by a pillar in the 10 steps of his coronation at the entrance of the TempleEzek. 17:14, Keep, stand by the Covenant, Ex. 9:28-remain in same place, or state both people or things, Levi. 13:5, 37, Jer. 32:14, 48:11, Dan. 10:17, 11:6. Stay amongst the living, Ex. 21:21. 3. Stillstehn, stand Still, stop, 1 Sam. 20:38, used of the sun standing still in its course; Josh. 10:13, Deut. 31:15, God in the cloudy Pillar, appeared over the Tabernacle door. 31:17 ‘are these evils not on us as our God is not among us?’6     

[5976amad=shake, be at a stand.] Ezek. 29:7 thou have made all their loins to shake, cp. Ps. 69:23. The context of Ezek. 29:2-ff is Pharaoh of Egypt, the great dragon/crocodile of the Nile who invaded and captured Gaza, [Jer 47:1] Bullinger says Pharaoh Hophra called Apries by the Greeks, who also hit Zidon in assault and battled the Prince of Tyre on the Sea [Herodotus ii, 161, 169] cp. 2 Kgs. 24:7, Jer. 46:2, battle of Carchamesh 37:5-8. Egypt thus caused Jerusalem’s destruction. [Jer. 44:30, 46:25-26.] Ezek. 29:4 uses the same language here describing Leviathan in Job as Cetus the decan of the sea monster, and Rahab=Egypt in Isa. 51:9-16, 30:7, the strength of Egypt is to sit still. Ps. 74: 13-14. As Israel under Zedekiah relied on Egyptian support which faltered [Ezek. 29:6-7] making their loins to come to a standstill, shake or “be a stand“=this usage of [H5976amad]. God divided the sea by His strength, breaking the heads of dragons in the waters, the heads of Leviathan in pieces… see Job 40-41, Hislop p. 293 talks of this Pharaoh as the embanker of the Nile.  7

In light of the astronomical meanings of the root ʿāmad (see below, section 4.2), if we read zəbūlâ in Hab. 3:11as it is vocalized in the Masoretic Text,43 the verse can be understood in its plain sense, without any need for emendations: the moon in its orbit went—unexpectedly—into the orbit of the sun and made it go dark. With the little light that remained on the earth, the flying arrows and the heads of the spears appeared to the soldiers to shine like the glow of stars. As explained below (section 4.4), observers can distinguish both the sun and the moon covering it only during an annular solar eclipse.8 [or a total solar eclipse seen through the overcast skies that spawned the hailstorm of Josh. 10:11

Thus, the aspect of darkness of dôm is directed primarily to the sun, which stopped shining in the middle of the day, while the aspect of cessation refers primarily to the moon, which appears as if it were “standing in front of the sun, as explained in verse 13, “And the sun went dark/halted, And the moon stood (still).” Other scholars, beginning in the 1940s, arrived at the conclusion that the two verbs used in this descriptiondôm and ʿāmād, express an unexpected cessation of the sun’s illumination and not the sun’s halting in its heavenly orbit,55 a result arrived at by various Jewish  commentators in the Middle Ages. The interpretation of the root dwm/dmm as a cessation of the sun’s illumination accords with one of the meanings of the root, which sometimes refers to the (usually sudden and unexpected) cessation of something from its natural, designated activity, as, for example, in Jer 47:6, in which the sword is asked to stop slaying, and in 1 Sam 14:9—in a parallel to ʿāmād, as in our verse—where it refers to non-participation in a battle.56 The same is true of ʿāmad, primarily with the preposition m-, as in Gen 30:9, where it refers to Leah’s ceasing
to bear children.57] 9

Later, J.F.A. Sawyer58 also interpreted the biblical description as a solar eclipse and suggested identifying it with the eclipse that occurred on September 30, 1131 BCE. He interpreted dôm as “stillness,” meaning that the sun ceased to shine. He explained the word ʿāmād and the clausedid not press, [or proceed] to set a whole day…10

[5977omed=a spot as being fixed, stood upright, from [H5975]. 2 Chron. 34:31, a place, where one stands, as King Josiah stood on his platform, Dan. 8:17-18. 11 H5982-Ammud also occurs in I Kgs. 7:2, cloudy pillar, Ex. 33:9-10, God’s presence [v.14] in the cloudy pillar at the Tabernacle door  to talk with Moses face-to-face, like the pillar of fire at night in [Ex. 13:22, 40:34-38]. Also used of pillars of heaven in Job 26:11 and pillars of the earth, Job 9:6. [2.] a Platform or scaffold; 2 Kgs. 11:14, 23:3. There is conjecture in the meaning of this pillar or column [H5982-ammud= Judg. 16:25-26, The pillars upon which the temple of Dagon of the Philistines standeth [H3559-kuwn= w/o God no human line is perpetuated, Isa. 9:6, Ps. 89:37, Judg. 16:26, 29]; that Samson was set between that he leaned on before destroying this temple w/ worshippers] God guarantees a kingship by establishing His Sanctuary among His people; Ex. 15:17, Isa. 2:2]. 12

2 Chron. 34:31-33
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their GodAll his days they did not depart from following the Lord God  of their fathers.

The teaching of this “place” where the King stood is at least two-fold, first being a physical place or platform, where he stood. Secondly, the spiritual foundation of his standing. King Josiah was a reformer who returned the kingdom of Israel to the precepts of righteousness, within God’s Covenant. We will look into this in greater detail below, in our study of 2Kgs. 23:3 and the king’s coronation record. The King’s coronation was always held in the temple, served by the prophets and priests who ministered in the ordination and installment of the King according to godly standards, as we find in the installment of King Josiah. It will help to understand better the celestial/astronomical implications of these temple pillars, for context.

A key aspect of the Temple layout regards the two large Brass Pillars at the entrance of the Temple at Jerusalem, and their relation to the Pi ratio. They are described in I Kings 7:13-15 below.

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

The word for “line” in verse 15 above indicates a line for measuring, thus a closer look at these brass pillars is called for. The Pi ratio has long been considered transcendental number, or constant of  mathematics (3.14159…), linking a straight diameter to a curved circumference. The archaeologist and mathematician Charles Funk-Hellet points out that:

“Solomon had Hiram contribute to building a temple whose brass columns were 18 cubits high, and 12 cubits around. In other words, one cubit equaled the twelfth part of the circumference of the arc of 30 degrees, or pi/6. By subtracting the circumference from the height, they obtained 6 cubits in a straight line, which was equal to 1/2 the circumference, or the exact value of pi; so that 1000 years before Christ the Hebrews knew that a cubit was a mathematical entity dependent on the circumference, and were able to resolve pi to four points of decimal.” 13 

Figure 1. Pi ratio applied to the circle of 12 signs or Constellations of the ecliptic.

Funk-Hellet’s observation that: “By subtracting the circumference from the height, they obtained 6 cubits in a straight line, which was equal to 1/2 circumference, or the exact value of pi/6.…“ is worth noting when we come to the subject of the celestial symbolism of the Menorah, and its application of pi, building on what we have found here. Funk-Hellet goes on to say that: “the Biblical cubit is equal to the Egyptian Royal cubit, that was incorporated into the Jerusalem Temple as pi/6, or 523.6 mm. Using one unit of measure as the radius of a circle, the ancients found the trigonometric value of 30 degrees to be pi/6, (that divided the full circumference of the circle into 12 equal parts, as the 12 signs of the zodiac are divided into 12/30 degree segments) and was the value of the royal cubit, or .5236 of the unit used: 3.1416/6= .5236“ 14 (parenthesis & emphasis mine)

Figure 2. Solomon’s Temple with Brass Pillars at the Entrance. 15

Brass Pillars at the Entrance of Solomon’s Temple

In effect, we have an architectural representation of the twelve-fold division of the heavens preserved in the dimensions of the Temple’s Brass columns, all based on the mathematical standard Pi, long before most modern scientists imagined the ancients knew anything about Pi at this level of accuracy. This provides more evidence showing the Creator’s perfect wisdom and Nature’s Great Geometer, at work in the dimensions of His Temple, as an illustration of heavenly realities [Heb. 8:5], which He gave to King  David by revelation. Also symbolically contained in the dimensions of the Temple’s brass columns, is a figure of 12 calendar months of 30 days, totaling the 360 days of their year, a calendar also used going all the way back to Noah’s time, in the context of the 360-degrees of the ecliptic. This reveals a true origin of the 12 – 30° segments of the ecliptic, as a standard celestial measure, and also reveals the Pi ratio at the root of the Hebrew Calendar matching the 360 degrees of the circle with the 360 days of the year on the Calendar of the Biblical Patriarchs. And since Noah was already 600 years old when the Bible records the details of his luni-solar calendar in Genesis 7, it also implies that it was used by the earlier Biblical Patriarchs prior to the flood, and centuries before history and human science thought this level of sophisticated astronomical timekeeping was in use. For more information on Noah’s Calendar, please check our website link @try-god.com. As we find other Biblical uses of the Hebrew word “qav,” God’s application of the Pi concept far exceeds any previous application in human history. Views based on scientific Materialism will never account fully for the realities of God’s Creation. Only from the Creator’s viewpoint in His Word, and the Works of His Hands, do these applications of pi make sense. Only He could apply pi to the ecliptic and the dimensions of planet Earth, an idea borne out in greater detail, in how pi is symbolically and architecturally appliednot only in the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, but moreso in the Great Pyramid, [Fig. 3, below]. Since the pattern shown to Moses for the Tabernacle was by divine revelation, just as the Temple’s pattern was shown to King David, these men of God did not calculate the blueprints for these sacred edifices, or their related measurements, by scientific trial and error. Thus, they didn’t need to wait centuries on the Greeks-like Archimedes, generally considered the greatest of ancient scientists, to rediscover or apply them in divine architecture. Although Archimedes is to be commended for his application of the pi ratio, at his later time in history, respectfully it pales compared to what we find in the Biblical uses of “qav” relating to pi.

Figure 3. Pi Ratio in the Great Pyramid of Giza – Bing images 16.

Image result for Golden Ratio Great Pyramid of Giza

In Isa. 9:6, one of the great prophecies of the promised seed, it is used of the Messiah as Sar-Shalom, the Prince of Peace, the one who brings peace to all Creation, [Eph. 2:11-18]. The word Sar as the root of saros doubtless linked to the Hebrew word [H8269] of the same spelling, meaning; “ruler, prince captain, chief, leader, head.”17 The word retained this meaning even in modern usage, as in the Tsar of all the Russias. As a witness linking to the roots of very early human language, Aesar is a word for “God” in both, Icelandic and Irish, Osar in Egyptian like Osiris was the prince. Even the English word “sir” and the RomanCeasar” are traceable to this root. It is used in Daniel 10:13 & 20, referring the arch-angel Michael who routed the fallen angel (Daimon), opposing the messenger angel that God sent to answer Daniel’s prayer. The meaning of “sar” is Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace embodies “the sum of creation, as the prince of Creation.” The most important date on the calendar of Israel then becomes the birthday of Jesus Christ on New Years Day, Tishri 1, 3 BC. Because the Hebrew calendar was lunar based [saros] as to the start of its months, the coordination of the lunar and solar cycles set the basis for the signs marking the birth of Christ. “With every 19 solar years plus 2 hours, the Sun and Moon return to meet each other at the same appointed time and place in the sky. The saros, however being an eclipse lunar cycle, consists of 19 eclipse years, which is only 18 solar years plus eleven days. An eclipse year consists of 346.62 solar days, which is equal to 11.738 full moons. When we divide the saros by 11.738, we get 1.618, (or phi), accurate to 4 digits!”18 This shows us a comparison between 2 lunar cycles (eclipse years & full moons) that harmonize according to the phi ratio. Since the Sun intersects a lunar Node two times every 346.62-day eclipse year, we see how the solar and lunar cycles might also be linked by the phi proportion. As we consider the Calendar of Israel, which unified the luni-solar cycles according to phi, in concert with Israel’s sacred fifty-year cycle of Jubilees, the impact of this pattern in the Natural Order is evident, since there are 618 full Moons in any given 50-year Jubilee cycle.

According to Hislop, The Chaldean version of this word: Zer, meaning “to encompass” gives us not only the English basis for; “Zero signified by a circle among the Chaldeans,” but also Zero; “the seed.”19 It further relates to the Hebrew word “zera” [H2233], used referring to the promised seed in Genesis 3:15. To this end the Chaldean word for the “woman’s promised seed” was Zero-ashta, that also formed the basis of the name Zoroaster. We should note here that the Zoroastrian writings in the Zend-Avesta predicted the return of Zoroaster as a Messianic savior who would renew all existence in preparation for the Last Judgment. These references to the woman’s promised seed point directly to the general sign of the Celestial Prelude. Hislop also notes:

 “In many nations, not only was a great god known under the name of Zero or Zer; the seed, and a great goddess under the name of Ashta or Ishta; the woman, but the great god Zero is frequently characterized by some epithet which implies that he is The only One.”20

This evidence provides a strong basis for a direct correlation to Coma, the seed as the desired of the nations, [Hab. 2:7] especially when we view the supernova in this child’s head, as the promised seed, pictured in the woman’s lap in the decan of Coma, as the general sign of the Celestial Prelude. Hislop goes on to say: “As he who by the Chaldeans was regarded as the great Seed was looked upon as the Sun incarnate, and as the emblem of the Sun was a circle, the hieroglyphic relation between zero; “the circle,” and zero; ‘the seed‘ was easily established.”21

The Maya were also familiar with the concept of zero long before it reached Europe through India and the Arab traders. They used a shell shape to symbolize zero, but to them “it was not a symbol for nothing; but it represented completion and the seed from which all could be derived.”22

From the information above we can see related cultural connotations for Sar-zero in the sun, embodied as the promised “great seed” [Mal. 4:2], the ecliptic upon which the sun travels [Psalm 19:4-6], in its course, moon (saros), and the “encompassing” circle, in spite of being separated by culture and time. The history of “zero” from a mathematical viewpoint is interesting in this light, because the Arabs, from whom we have taken it, got it from the Chaldeans. In our modern usage, zero is the absence of quantity, the point where a continuous function changes its sign from positive to negative [or from the physical to spiritual] as in, for example, zeropoint energy Physics. From a Biblical viewpoint, this transition between the physical and spiritual realms is embodied in Jesus Christ who is the crown of Creation. As the Word made flesh, seated at the right hand of God at the utmost peak of the cosmos, Jesus gives mankind our only access to the true spiritual side of life that arches over our physical “reality,” [II Cor. 4:18]. As the ideal man and mediator, he embodies the relationship between all humanity on Earth and our Heavenly Father. This becomes more interesting when we consider that, according to ancient Sumerian myth, Sar also symbolized the totality of the cosmos. The Sumerian conception of this was dual, meaning there was an upper totality called An-Sar, and a lower totality known as Ki-Sar. “An” meant heaven, and “Ki” meant Earth to the Sumerians, who believed that originally these two were unified in one place, until circumstances demanded that Earth be set aside for humanity in its fallen state. The Sar was the prince who would once again unify these disparate aspects of Creation resulting from the temptation and fall of man. As we consider the Sumerian cosmos, we find the ancient concept of a layered Celestial Sphere within the great circle of An-Sar that encompasses the lesser ellipses or pillars of the eclipticEquator, the planetaryearthly and lunar orbits.

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 12 [4 x 3] tribes [Ex. 28:15-30]. Keeping with the celestial symbolism theme, the breastplate, was designed with a niche holding 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 revealed the wisdom and glory of the Creator, even as the movements of the Sun and Moon in the sky declare God’s glory [Ps. 19:1]. We find more references to these 12 stones and their variants in the living stones of I Pet. 2:4-7

Another element in understanding the celestial/astronomical implications of these temple pillars, includes the astronomy of the birth of Christ. This is a natural progression from the Kings of Israel, starting with King David and the Davidic Dynasty leading to the promised seed and King of Kings, the apex of this royal spiritual line in Jesus Christ.

Other notable researchers have acknowledged the correlation of Rosh Hashanah not only at the Birth of Christ on Sept. 11th, 3 BC, but also as his birth relates to his victorious return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with the Rev. 12 heavenly birth signs replaying in 2017 and beyond, in light of the Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy of the Great Pyramid. The principal on the Signs of the End web- site isDaniel Matson, @[http://watchfortheday.org/signsoftheend/giza2024.html]. 23

He broached this topic with the question; “Could Rosh Hashanah be the real factor? His basic idea is  that the pyramid complex is a map of the heavens of a point in time when Christ returns. The pyramids show what is to be at meridian (Al Nitak in Orion), taking into account the causeways heading east from the pyramids, showing the importance of the rising sun or other items rising in the east. That the Sphinx also looks to the east is a factor as well. The point though was to see when a candidate for an alignment of Rosh Hashanah and the meridian alignment of Orion at dawn.”24

An earlier version of this was realized in the Great Pyramid’s Rosh Hashanah alignment of 2017,

As we have posted in numerous blog studies, the heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ seen in Rev12 will also mark his victorious return, and we have documented how the heavenly signs in the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad and the signs leading up to the 2017 fall equinox, established this truth. However, the 2017 alignment was not alone as a possible marker for Christ’s Return. The next alignment of this type is coming in 2028, when dates for Rosh Hashanah may match the sky picture of signs as described in Rev. 12. In 2017 Matson showed a key relationship between the Christ Angle of the Great Pyramid and the Rosh Hashanah date starting-sundown on Sept. 20th-21st, 2017, two days before the Feast of Trumpets on 9-23-2017. As Matson said, “this was the first year from when he marked Rosh Hashanah coming immediately after Sept20th—the time Al Nitak hits the meridian precisely at dawnand also when Regulus hits the Christ angle.”25 Thus, the Christ angle not only bisects Bethlehem as a prophecy of Christ’s birth, but it also bisects Regulus as in 2017, at this point in time again in 2028, as a potential time of his Return.

The Sept. 20th alignment of Venus-Regulus related to the Great Pyramid, is seen in Fig. 4 below.

Figure 4. Great Pyramid Passage Alignments on Rosh Hashanah 2017. 26

Signs of the End – The Oracle in Stone

Here the passages of the Great Pyramid according to the Christ Angle, map out the signs of the
Celestial Sphinx, as Regulus and Venus are aligned in Leo the Lion, while Jupiter is in Virgo.

The first clincher here is that on Rosh Hashanah-2017Venus the bright and Morning Star is in
conjunction with Regulus at dawn, aligned with the Christ Angle, visible above the horizon. Second, below the horizon is Jupiter–called the “scepter” in [Num. 24:17], as King planet of the Jews, is positioned equi-distant via the Christ angle to Regulus & Venus above the horizon. The dawn VenusRegulus union reminds us of the testimony of the Apostle Peter;

2 Peter 1:19-21
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark placeuntil the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

In Fig. 5 below the Christ angle in the Ascending Passage of the Great Pyramid is aligned with the Venus-Regulus union in Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The key note here is the star Regulus, the brightest star on the ecliptic, is located at the heart of Leo, and when this glorious dawn of the sixth administration breaks, the Morning Star Jesus Christ arises in our hearts, enlightening us for eternal glory, as we are raptured with Christ to God’s own right hand, forever. The 2nd part of this Pyramid alignment on Rosh Hashanah, when Al Nitak hits the meridian precisely at dawn,  extending through the Pyramid’s apex, to the star Al Nitak on Orion’s Belt. The apex and chief cornerstone of the Great Pyramid itself is also the subject of numerous messianic prophecies [Ps. 118: 22] where the stone rejected by the builders has become head of the corner, or the chief cornerstone. This 5th cornerstone of the Great Pyramid sits atop the superstructure of the Great Pyramid, unifying the four cornerstones at the Pyramid’s base, into the spiritual body of Christ’s Church, [Eph. 2:20]. This would activate the celestial image of the Great Pyramid, to unify the capstone with the body of the Great Pyramid, as a prophecy of Christ’s return FOR his saints.

The Almighty has provided many examples from History and Nature, not to mention countless Biblical miracles confirming His Prophetic Word, in the dual witness of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy, of the Great Pyramid providing excellent depictions of this verse with Venus the Morning Star aligned in the King Star Regulus at dawn on Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 21st, 2017, according to the measures of the Great Pyramid’s Ascending/ Descending passages, [Fig. 5 below]. If indeed these heavenly signs are pointing to The Dawn of The Day of the Lord’s Return FOR his Saints in 2028, then it will truly be the dawn of a New Day and Age of Everlasting Righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Figure 5. The Great Pyramid’s Ascending Passage alignment with the Venus-Regulus union in Leo, 9-20-2017.  27

This view of the prophecy of the Great Pyramid in its Ascending and Descending Passage angles agrees with what Scriptures say about the witness of the Great Pyramid in Isaiah 19:19-20. What is evident from this graphic [Fig. 4] is the key role of the planets Jupiter and Venus in marking the Birth and 2nd Coming of the Lord. Historically, ancient Pyramid researchers have made key observations concerning the dimensions and symbolism of the only ancient world wonder still intact. Scholars from Herodotus to Agatharchides oCnidus in the 2nd Cent. BC, emphasized mathematical and geometric principles governing the building and conception of the Pyramid complex on the Giza Plateau, as opposed to their specific measures. A modern scholar, Livio Stechini in analyzing the past work of Pyramid researchers, has focused on the meridian triangle of the Great Pyramid, which provided precise values of both the Pi and Phi ratios, in the four triangular faces of the Great Pyramid. Agatharchides found dimensions for two of the meridian sections of the Pyramid based on Pi, with the other 2 triangle sections based on Phi.28 As we may recall from our High School Geometry class, Pi resolved the circle’s relationship between its diameter and circumference. In Sacred Geometry, a spiritual view of geometric principles is held, where the Circle symbolizes the Eternal Creator [Elohim], while the Diameter embodies God as Jehovah in relationship with His Creation. Jehovah is seen reaching out to humanity in His only begotten Son, where Jesus as the diameter line, links the centerpoint; [Mancreation] to the Creator seen as the eternal Circle, outside of Creation. So Christ is the perfect mediator between God and Man, [I Tim. 2:5].

Rosh ha-Shanah on Tishri 1, was the “head” of the Judean calendar as New Year’s day and Jesus’ birth-day, the first day of the 50year Hebrew cycle of Jubilees. This set a foundational temporal pattern of the seasons, holidays and feasts of Israel’s sacred calendar.

During the “Great Wonder” of Rev. 12:1, the feet of the woman, Virgo fall at the intersection of the ecliptic and the Celestial Equator, which is also known as the autumnal equinox, one of the so-called four pillars of heaven,” the four Cardinal Directions of the horizon. This celestial point was generally marked on the Hebrew calendar by the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurred later during this Sabbath of Months. V.P. Wierwille refers to the significance of Tishri 1 the seventh month, with the following:

 “Just as age was reckoned from Tishri 1 to Tishri 1, so were the regnal years of Judean Kings. The blowing of trumpets of Rams Horns was also part of the coronation ceremony of these Judean Kings.” 29

We find added evidence for this in the star cycle of Sirius, as a symbol embodying a dual-nature of the Morning Star. Its fallen archaic nature is seen in Lucifer, the first Morning Star [Isa. 14:12], while the risen nature is seen in Christ [Rev. 22:16]. This becomes more intriguing when we look at aspects of the stellar mythos of the star cycles of Sirius A & B, of the African tribe called the Dogon.

The Dogon celestial mythology says the cycle of SiriusB,” a White Dwarf companion star in joint orbit with SiriusA“, is a 50-year cycle, a fact verified by modern astronomers. Thus, it is instructive to see how half the fifty-year cycle of Sirius B exhibits the luni-solar kinship inherent in the 50-year cycle of Hebrew Jubilees, according to the golden section, or phi ratio. This key to the celestial coordination of the luni-solar cycle, along with the star cycle of Sirius as the three main calendars referred to in Gen. 1:14-16. Since the sidereal Sirius year, or Sothic Calendar as the Greeks called it, requires a highly advanced knowledge of the heavens, capable of selecting the lone star in the sky that dictates a year-365¼ days long, we find more support for these advanced astronomical practices about 1000+ years prior to Abraham, in ancient Egypt.

Although the historical correlation of the 50-year Jubilee and the 50-year Sothic cycle is unsettled, we have seen the Jubilee cycle is central to the timing of Christ’s birth, and stands out in the celestial events making up the great wonder of Rev. 12. According to Schwaller de Lubicz, who broke down the 50-year Sothic cycle into two 25 year cycles: says a twenty-five year cycle corresponds to 309 lunations. The calculations are:

25 x 365 = 9125 days, and
9125 = 29.5307 days per lunation in 309 lunations

This in itself reveals extremely accurate observations. Modern Astronomy reckons the lunation as 29.53059 days, a difference of about a second. But Schwaller de Lubicz notes the intriguing equivalence of twenty-five years to 309 lunar months. 309 = (Ø -1 x 1000 and its choice as the number determining the cycle cannot have been accidental.                                   2

Ø – 1 x 1000.)=618.  A double cycle comprising 50 years; expresses the Golden Section. 30 
            2

Thus the inception of Jesus’ reign as King of Kings is marked on his birthday of Tishri 1, the “Day of Trumpets.” The significance of the king’s coronation tied to Rosh Hashannah, New Year’s Day and the head of Israel’s calendar, is that Christ is the King of Kings presiding over all temporal, civil and sacred matters as the King-High Priest of Israel. Thus, his birth on this key day of the calendar was foreordained by God, from before the foundations of the world. An example of this coronation tradition in the kingdom of Israel can be seen in II Kings 11:

2 Kings 11:12-14
And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. [13] And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. [14] And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

The figure Polysyndetyn is evident in 2 Kings above as seen with the use of manyands” separating the steps of the king’s coronation, starting with bringing forth the king’s son in v. 12, and concluding with the blowing of trumpets, and Athalia tearing her clothes and crying Treason as the 13th step of rebellion in v.14, resulting in her death.

The chronological alignment that we are recognizing with regards to the regnal years of Judean kings,  calculated from New Years Day, Rosh ha-Shanah on the Hebrew Calendar, from Tishri 1 to Tishri 1, that coincides with the birthday of Jesus Christ is established in a celestial coronation ceremony of the promised seed, with the triple planetary union of Jupiter-Regulus following Christ’s birth in  BC. In the Book of Kings, Jesus is the King’s son, in the Red Thread title, that unveils each book in God’s Word according to the ministry of Christ. These steps recorded in the king’s coronation here in II Kings 11:12-14, start with the king being brought forth, the ninth of which is “the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was.” Verse 13 above notes that the coronation ceremony took place in the Temple of the Lord, which is logical since the king was ordained and anointed of God. Below we find the celestial rendition of Christ’s Coronation, with the first of 3 unions of Jupiter, the King planet and Regulus the king star, in 3-2 BC. In Fig. 6 below, the path of Jupiter from Sept. 3 BC to Nov. 2 BC is depicted as Jupiter crowns Regulus. This involves the coordination of the luni-solar, planetary and star cycles all synched in honor of the prophesied appearance of the promised seed, God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

Fig. 6. The Triple conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus on Sept. 14th 3 BC. 31

In the Astronomy of the Birth of Christ, we also found a series of at least 7 lunar occultations of Regulus, signifying the serpent’s efforts to obstruct the purposes of God in the time of Christ’s birth. There is evidence that these lunar activities marked the workings of the serpent’s seed in bringing about death and destruction. This dark lunar symbolism relates to the Moon’s eclipse cycle resulting in the recurrent lapse of the Sun’s life-giving light. In the final analysis however, persecution by the adversary does not directly hinder the movement of God’s Word, it only will ultimately assist in its abundant dispersion.

II Chronicles 23:3-11 shows us this record in greater detail.
3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them,“Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has said of the sons of DavidThis is what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LordBut let no one come into the house of the Lord except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LordAnd the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed the divisions. And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on himgave him the [a]Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah

12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!

2Kgs. 23:3, the king stood by a pillar at the Temple’s entrance in the 13 steps of his coronation. As Ezek17:14, tells us, if the king kept God’s Covenant, the kingdom would stand, explaining why the coronation ceremony was held in the Temple where God’s name dwelt.

2 Chronicles 23:13-15
[13] And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. 14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord.”
15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

The Trumpets that accompanied the King’s coronation ceremony on Rosh Hashanah in v.13 above, are very appropriate to the pomp and circumstance of the occasion. There has been conjecture as to the meaning of this pillar or column [H5982-ammud=Judg. 16:25-26, I Kgs. 7:2, pillar of cloud, Ex. 33:9-10, and the pillar of fire in Ex. 13:22. Also used of pillars of heaven in Job 26:11 and pillars of the earth, Job 9:6-7. Job here mentions the earthly pillars in the same breath as the sun not giving its light, along with the stars being sealed up. The earth’s seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, located at the equinoxes and solstices, are called the earthly pillars. [2.] a Platform or scaffold; where the King stood by his pillar2 Kgs. 11:14, 23:3.

The record in 2 Chron. 23 puts this “pillar at the entering in,” and if the entrance of the temple is meant, it refers to the Temple’s large pillars of brass called Jachin and Boaz. This agrees with the New Bible Dictionary which states: “The entrance to Solomon’s Temple was flanked by 2 huge bronze pillars of key significance, [I Kgs 7:15-22]. They were thought to indicate the divine presence as the pillars of fire and cloud in Ex. 33:9, Deut. 31:15. It was apparently by one of these that the king stood on ceremonial occasions, [2 Kings 23:3, 2 Chron. 23:13].”32

 In II Chron. 34:31, King Josiah stood in his place (H5977omed) and made a covenant before the Lord to keep His commandments. The word translated “place” has the same Hebrew root [H5975amad] as the wordpillar” above.

1 Kings 7:21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.

Thus, as the kings of Israel stood in their place, by their pillar in the temple during the king’s
coronation ceremony, so the coronation of the King of kings, seen in the stellar heralding of his birth, was also marked by one of the four celestial pillars of heaven. At this center point in history, near the autumnal equinox, with the Moon at the feet of Virgo, with the setting of the star Spica-Al Zemach, the moments of the birth of Jesus Christ were framed in the heavens. This was followed 3 days later by the first union of a triple planetary coronation with first
Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction in Leo.

Fig. 7. The Scene at Sunset on 9-11-3BC with the Sun in Virgo with the Moon at her Feet.33

jupiter-regulus

This graphic marks the scene described in Rev. 12 with “the woman [Virgo] clothed with the sun, and the Moon at her feet. The Moon also happens to mark the autumnal equinox, with the crossing of the Celestial Equator and the Ecliptic or path of the Sun. This picture represents the view from Jerusalem on Sept. 11th, 3, BC, at sunset at 6:18pm, and moonset at 7:39pm, as the Sun and Moon frame the setting of the Star Spica which marked the birth time of the Messiah Jesus Christ. 34

This reference to the Feasts of Tabernacles and Passover in the pillar’s chapiters dividing the year in half according to the sacred calendar, remind us of the relation of the luni-solar year that is evident in the cycle of Jubilees. The Feast of Tabernacles was the third of the great annual feasts of the Hebrew sacred calendar, beginning on the fifteenth of the month, which was the height of the full Moon. It determined the start, and closed the annual sacred cycle of the Sabbatical year and the agricultural year, while also marking the change of seasons. Coming during the seventh or most sacred month with its Moon at full strength, shows us another stamp of seven in the temporal order of this feast. Edersheim comments on the significance of the number seven in his book The Temple, where he states:

“What the seventh day, or sabbath was to the week, the seventh month seems to have been to the year.” 35

Thus it would follow that, as Pentecost was to Passover in that it followed it by fifty days (7×7+1), so the Jubilee followed in yearsLeviticus 25:8 relates the “seven Sabbaths of years” to the 50th year of the Jubilee, which fell on the Day of Atonement, or the tenth day of the holiest 7th month of Tishri. In the same way that liberty was proclaimed in the Jubilee, throughout all the land and to all its inhabitants [Levi. 25:10], so Jesus set at liberty them that were bruised, while proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord at the opening of his ministry. This is interesting when we observe that there are thirty Jubilees that bring us from the Exodus to the opening of Christ’s ministry, when opening the scroll to Isa. 61:2, he certified the “acceptable year of the Lord” in a 7-fold prophecy, (Lk. 4:18-21).36 This fits neatly with the truth that in fulfilling the O.T. Law as the embodiment of the Passover male lamb of the first year [Exod. 12:5), Jesus was in the first year of his manhood according to Hebrew reckoning, beginning at 30 years old. During this specific period of 70 weeks; [Dan. 9:24] decreed by God as the period to fulfill this Messianic redemption wherein he ministered to Israel, he was crucified, resurrected, & ascended, exploding the myth that his ministry lasted till he was thirty-three.

In summary, the January Blog of 2023 has illustrated how the potential eclipse of Joshua’s Long Day relates to the luni-solar cycle through the eclipse cycle and even the lunar occultations of Regulus,
to highlight Biblical Astronomy keys of the coronation of the King of kings. Behind it all, we find
God’s mighty Hand guiding us in our search for Biblical truth, continuing to inspire us as we uncover invaluable nuggets along our ultimate path to being seated in Christ at God’s right hand, according to His eternal purposes.

God Bless!

Rene’

 

Footnotes

1. January 2017 Hebrew Journal Beyt Mikra by physicist Ḥezi YitzḥakBible scholar
Daniel Weinstaub
, and archeologist Uzi Avner.
2. IBID.
3. Plate 1. Picture Credit, (courtesy of the NASA website)
4. January 2017 Hebrew Journal Beyt Mikra by physicist Ḥezi YitzḥakBible scholar
Daniel Weinstaub
, and archeologist Uzi Avner.
5. IBID.
6. Gesenius HebrewChaldee Lexicon- H5975:amad.
7. IBID, 5976amad.
8. January 2017 Hebrew Journal Beyt Mikra by physicist Ḥezi YitzḥakBible scholar
Daniel Weinstaub
, and archeologist Uzi Avner.
9. IBID.
10. IBID.
11. Gesenius HebrewChaldee Lexicon- 5977-omed.

12. IBID, H5982-ammud.
13. A History of Pi, p. 16, Petr Beckmann.
14. Secrets of the Great Pyramid,  Peter Thompkins, p. 263
15. Fig. 2, picture credit. Solomon’s Temple with Brass Pillars at the Entrance.
 [alaymanlooksattheword.blogspot.com]
16. Figure 3. picture credit from Bing images; Pi Ratio in the Great Pyramid of Giza.
17. Strong’s Concordance; H8269-saros, James Strong.
18. Sun, Moon and Earth. Robin Heath, p.28
19. The Two Babylons Hislop, p. 59
20. IBID Hislop, p. 18
21. IBID.
22. Serpent in the Sky J..A. West, p. 94.
23. http://watchfortheday.org/signsoftheend/giza2024.html
24. IBID.
25. IBID.
26. IBID, Signs of the End – The Oracle in Stone.
27. Fig. 5 Picture credit. [endtimesforecaster.blogspot.com]
28. Secrets of the Great Pyramid,  Peter Thompkins, p. 374-375.
29. Jesus Christ our Promised Seed, American Christian Press, VP Weirwille
30 Serpent in the Sky J..A. West, ppg. 94-95.
31. Fig. 6 picture credit, Jesus Christ our Promised Seed, p. 61, American Christian Press.
32. New Bible Dictionary, ppg. 544-545, Tyndale House Publishers.
33. Fig. 7 picture credit, Jesus Christ our Promised Seed, p. 70-71, American Christian Press.
34. IBID, p. 70.
35. The Temple.  Alfred Edersheim
36. IBID

 

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Blog Summary of the birth of Christ and the Celestial Prelude.

Birth of Jesus Christ
Biblical Astronomy of the Birth of Christ


Merry Christmas 2022 Everyone as we recognize the true Reason for the Season!

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During the Holiday Season we always do our best to acknowledge the truth behind the idea of the “Star of Bethlehem,” and its biblical and astronomical significance. This subject represents the roots of the Try-God website and blog research, found in the articles posted on Try-god.com going back 20 years to the early 2000’s. This month we are first posting a recent article linked to the 2020 union of Jupiter and Saturn as it relates to the history of the star of Bethlehem. Secondly, we will repost a number of our studies from the last two decades, regarding the “Birth of Christ” topic, and what I’ve referred to as “The Celestial Prelude” pertaining to the celestial signs preceding Christ’s Birth, that set the foundation for the Magi to recognize these heavenly signs, as they came to pass.

Below is an article that appeared in Astronomy Magazine on Friday, December 18, 2020, that generally aligns with my approach to the Star of Bethlehem. This will serve as an introduction to some of my blog post research that follows, on various aspects of this subject. In fact, the last of my links listed below deals with the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Dec. 2020, which is the subject of this article from
Astronomy Magazine, below.

 The Star of Bethlehem: Can science explain what it really was?

For centuries, scholars have suggested the Star of Bethlehem may have actually been a “great conjunction” of bright planets. 1
RELATED TOPICS: STARS | JUPITER | SATURN
ASYSB011001
“Could the Star of Bethlehem have been caused by a “great conjunction” of the bright planets Venus and Jupiter? On June 17, 2 B.C., the planets had come so close they would have almost appeared as one object, similar to the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 2020.  Ron Miller/Astronomy magazine

On December 21, 2020 Jupiter and Saturn will come together in a “Great Conjunction” unlike any seen in nearly 800 years. The two planets will appear so close together in Earth’s night sky on winter solstice that they’ll almost look like a single object.

That’s prompted some to dub the sight a “Christmas Star,” and others to wonder about a similar sounding celestial event that coincided with the biblical first Christmas: the Star of Bethlehem. But did such a cosmic sight ever really exist? And if so, what does astronomical science tell us about what could have caused it?

Interestingly, there’s some evidence that a pair of planetary conjunctions — not unlike the coming Great Conjunction — happened around the historically accepted time frame for the birth of Christ. That could potentially explain the Star of Bethlehem. But, of course, not everyone agrees with the idea.

1024pxMagi__1_
The three wise men, or Magi, arrived after Jesus’ birth carrying gold, frankincense and myrrh, as captured in this Byzantine mosaic created in 565 A.D.  Wikimedia Commons

The Star of Bethlehem

The story of the Star of Bethlehem appears only in the Book of Matthew. The gospel tells us that a bright star appeared in the eastern sky when Jesus was born, famously seen by a group of wise men. These biblical “Magi,” sometimes called kings, now adorn nativity scenes around the world.

The Bible describes how these wise men saw the new star as a sign of the birth of the King of the Jews, so they set out for Jerusalem to worship him. Once they arrive, they inquire about baby Jesus with Herod, the region’s ruler appointed by Rome. “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage,” Matthew tells us.

But Herod is worried by the idea. He and his own wise men supposedly seek to discover Jesus’ birthplace. Eventually, they call on the wise men to ask when the star appeared. And thanks to Micah’s prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, Herod sends the trio to Bethlehem to search for Jesus. (Supposedly, Herod also ultimately kills the infants of Bethlehem in an attempt to snuff out Jesus.)

According to Matthew, “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

622785main_6313004758_30e7fc70e6_o_full
Supernova RCW 86, the oldest known supernova in recorded history, was seen by Chinese astronomers in 185 A.D.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO & ESA; Infared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/B. Williams (NCSU)

Evidence for the Star of Bethlehem

For centuries, astronomers have looked to the historical record in search of evidence for what could explain this Star of Bethlehem. Scholars have been discussing potential causes since at least the 13th century. Perhaps it was a supernova, a comet, a solar flare or an alignment of planets. Or, alternatively, maybe it never happened at all. The truth is, science will likely never know the truth.

But let’s entertain the idea that it was a real celestial event. What are some science-backed explanations that could explain the Star of Bethlehem?

Well, the story is relatively vague, but it does give us some clues.

Some things are easily ruled out. For example, the Star of Bethlehem couldn’t have been a meteor — a chunk of space rock that brightly burns up in Earth’s atmosphere — which would’ve appeared and faded in an instant. There’s no way three wise men could have tracked a meteor for weeks.

It’s also unlikely that a supernova — the explosive death of a star, which drastically increases its brightness for days, weeks or months — could explain the Star of Bethlehem. Supernovae, or “guest stars” have been consistently witnessed and recorded going back thousands of years. So if one had happened, other cultures likely would have taken note.

And even if it somehow escaped the written historical record, astronomers have observed remnants of many other ancient supernovae. And by estimating their peak brightness, researchers have even tied some remnants to events seen on Earth in the past. Yet telescopes haven’t found any evidence for a supernova remnant that sync up with the timing of the Star of Bethlehem. In fact, the only supernova that was visible from Earth around the time of Christ’s birth actually happened in the year 185 A.D. and was recorded by Chinese astronomers.

Giotto__Scrovegni__18__Adoration_of_the_Magi
Italian painter Giotto di Bondone witnessed Halley’s Comet when it appeared in 1301 A.D. Then, he painted the Star of Bethlehem as a comet burning bright above Jesus in the manger.  Wikimedia Commons

A Christmas Comet?

In the past, some interested astronomers have also suggested the Star of Bethlehem was a comet passing near Earth. These icy bodies from the distant solar system often shine quite brightly when they venture into the inner solar system and are heated by the Sun. They’re also known for sometimes visibly lingering in the sky for weeks or months at a time. And like supernovae, we also have historical records from other cultures regarding comets.

Sure enough, in the year 5 B.C., Chinese astronomers noted the appearance of a “Broom Star” that many researchers have interpreted as a comet. Like supernovae, Chinese scholars noted many historic comets, and even recorded a number of times that meteor impacts killed people.

In the 1970s, researchers caught onto the timing coincidence of this Chinese “Broom Star,” and a string of papers started popping up in scientific journals debating the idea, among other inspirations. All the back and forth culminated in a 1977 story in The New York Times written by legendary science journalist Walter Sullivan that suggested it could have been a comet, conjunction, nova or simply myth. Clearly, no consensus opinion has emerged in the decades since, either.

So, could a comet have been the Star of Bethlehem? There’s no way to rule it out, but there is one obvious reason to doubt it.

Keep in mind that people in the ancient world typically saw comets as symbols of pending doom — an evil omen of bad things about to happen. So, if a comet suddenly started shining brightly in the night sky, it’s hard to imagine three wise men would interpret it as a sign that their savior had finally been born.

Screen_Shot_20201216_at_7.36.14_PM

A triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7 B.C. At first glance, these illustrations look the same, but compare the positions of the planets with the background stars. On May 29, Jupiter passed Saturn (both moving right to left) for the first time. Jupiter passed Saturn again September 30 with both moving to the right (west). Finally, the planets resumed eastward motion, and Jupiter passed Saturn for the third time December 5.

Astronomy/Roen Kelly

Ancient great conjunction

What about a mash-up of planets like the upcoming Great Conjunction of 2020? Could that explain the Star of Bethlehem?

When you rewind the motion of the planets — something that’s easy to do with observing software these days — you can see that several interesting conjunctions played out in the years around the life of Jesus. (A planetary conjunction happens when two planets make a close approach to each other in Earth’s night sky. The two objects aren’t actually near each other, though, they just look that way from our vantage point.)

In the year 7 B.C., Jupiter and Saturn had three conjunctions in the same constellation, Pisces. Because the planets move in their orbits at different speeds, and are located at different distances, sometimes they appear to pass one another in the night sky. They can also appear to hold still or move backward in the sky, which astronomers call retrograde motion. This trick is like passing a slower car on the highway. As you get close to the other vehicle, it seems to hold still beside you. Then, as you pull away, it drops backward. The same thing happens as Earth zips around the Sun much faster than the outer planets.

However, Jupiter is closer to the Sun than Saturn, so it also appears to move faster in our night sky.

So, if Jupiter and Saturn had three close conjunctions in a relatively brief period of time, it’s easy to imagine that ancient astronomers — really, astrologers — would have taken note. And they also likely would have ascribed some meaning to the event.

These same astrologers wouldn’t have had to wait long for an even more striking planetary encounter. Four years later, in the summer of 3 B.C., Jupiter and Venus met in an event that would have looked much like the upcoming Christmas Star,” also referred to as the Great Conjunction of December 2020.

On the morning of August 12 in 3 B.C., Jupiter and Venus would’ve sat just 1/10th a degree apart in the dawn sky. That’s one-fifth the diameter of the Full Moon. (The December 2020 conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn will have an identical separation, albeit in the evening sky.) That wasn’t the end of the show, either. Venus and Jupiter continued their dance over most of the next year before finally appearing to merge into a single star in June.

skyhandangles
Though not perfect, your hand (with your arm fully outstretched) is a great tool for estimating angles in the night sky.  [The Conversation]

The idea that a conjunction between bright planets could explain the Star of Bethlehem isn’t new. A note in the Annals of the Abbey of Worcester from 1285 A.D. points out an alignment of Jupiter and Saturn that happened at the time of Jesus’ birth. And Johannes Kepler himself touched on the idea in the 17th century.

Myth or reality?

Since then, many enthusiastic astronomers — and eager amateurs — have also pointed to other celestial positions playing out around the same time as further evidence that ancient astrologers would’ve found meaning in these events. Bright stars and planets were moving through important constellations. Still others have suggested that the Star of Bethlehem might not have been one celestial event at all. Instead, taken together, the combined effect of years of these astronomical events may have led the Magi to see signs a new king had been born.

But could any of these things have really caused the Star of Bethlehem?

With this part of the article in Astronomy Magazine, we will be able to see to a great extent how our evidence supports the position of “a Celestial Prelude” that allowed the Magi to recognize the series of celestial signs that led them to the Star that marked the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will start with the links for the Dec. 14th, 2014 blog post on Jesus Christ’ birth date; Parts 1 & 2, attended by the May 16th, 2015 study on the Blood Moon Tetrad and the Celestial Prelude. This is followed by our study on the Jupiter-Venus triple union marking the birth of Christ in 3-2BC. Our next installment pertains to evidence for the Coma Super-
nova leading up to and following Christ’s birth, explaining how a supernova witnessed by 2 of the most renown ancient astronomers, Hipparcus and Ptolemy, has a key bearing on the birth of Christ. The reader will note that our position is based on a more exhaustive view of the history of JupiterSaturn conjunction cycles, and their impact on biblical events related to Jerusalem & the history of the Biblical Patriarchs, bringing many details to light, heretofore unseen or realized.

December 14th Birth date of Jesus Christ [Pt. 1]

 December 25th Birth date of Jesus Christ [Pt. 2]

 May 16th Blood Moon Tetrad and the Celestial Prelude

July 26th Jupiter-Venus triple conjunction and Regulus with the Birth and Return of Christ

November 20th New Evidence of the Coma Supernova and the Birth of Christ.

Oct. 20th The Biblical Astronomy of the Birth and Return of Jesus Christ and the Dual Fulfillment of Revelation 12, [Part 1]

Nov. 15th The Biblical Astronomy of the Christmas Day Signs in 2 BC and 2017

 Sept. 10th Comet Giacobini-Zinner and the Birth and Return of Jesus Christ.

 November 1st  The Celestial Prelude and the Blood Moons of 5 BC, [Part 1].

 Dec. 17th, The Jupiter-Saturn Timeline, The Celestial Prelude and The Coma Supernova.

With this selection of research posts, we trust that the reader is presented with enough evidence from scientific astronomy, not astrology which is forbidden in Scripture, as to the true nature of the Star of Bethlehem, not only in prophecy that was fulfilled, but also with verifiable scientific evidence. This allows the Scriptural narrative of the Bethlehem star to be separated from mythology to truth of Scripture. I welcome any questions and feedback!

As we abide vigilant in the Hope of Christ’s Return, may we all enjoy the riches of God’s Blessings in the abundant life He has called us to, rejoicing in the truth with our brothers and sisters in the Church of the spiritual body of Christ!!

God Bless,

Rene’

 

Footnotes

1. Astronomy Magazine on Friday, December 18, 2020; The Star of Bethlehem: Can science explain what it really was? This reprint is an excerpt of the article by Eric Betz.

2. The links supplied to conclude this month’s blog are all from the archives of previous blog posts [@blog.try-god.org], or my website studies [@try-god.com]

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Biblical Astronomy of The Grand Celestial Alignment of June 2022

Biblical Astronomy of The Grand Celestial Alignment of June 2022  1

The heavens were revving up for some celestial fireworks in June of 2022, to be reflected on earth leading into our July 4th celebrations for Independence day!

The Grand Celestial Alignment in June of 2022, picks up on what we saw two months ago in the celestial signs in April of 2022, starting with a union of Mars and Saturn, as the two approached each other closer than a lunar diameter on April 5thApril opened with three bright planets massed low in our east-southeast sky just before sunrise. This was preceded by a triangular massing of Venus-Mars-Saturn in Capricornus on March 28th, 2022. In April 2022, these planets VenusSaturn & Mars are only 6 degrees, apart with Venus to the left, followed by Saturn and Mars in conjunction.

Figure 1.  Capricornus the Celestial Goat-fish. 2 
See the source image

The union of Mars and Saturn, represents interesting symbolism as the Red planet Mars can embody the blood of Christ, which is key during the Passover month of April, in light
of his perfect sinless blood, that he sacrificed for all humanityMars can also represent the Warrior Archangel Michael as he fights for God’s people, against Satan-embodied in Saturn or Satan’s planet. With this conjunction in Capricorn in April 2022, it recalls the same month our Lord was crucified on April 28th28 AD, with a series of planetary conjunctions within a Grand Alignment nearly 2000 years later.

As Christ embodies the Passover in Israel, seen in the celestial symbolism of Capricornus his death and resurrection fulfilled a prophecy of Isa. 53sacrificing his life for the sheep. As Bullinger eloquently put it; “the living fish proceeds from the dying goat, and yet they form only one body. [Eph. 4] That picture which has no parallel in nature, has a perfectly true counterpart in Grace, and the great multitude which no man can number, is redeemed unto eternal life through the death of their redeemer. 3 

Around the 8th of AprilJupiter, which was immersed below the horizon during the first week of April, makes an appearance, expanding this alignment with the other three planets to make it a foursome. By the morning of April 19, all four planets are aligned in a diagonal line of a little over 30 degrees; from lower left to upper rightJupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn, as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The mid-April Alignment of 4 planets in Capricorn, 2022. 4

Passover, kicked off the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Pesach in the Hebrew Year, starting at sundown on Friday, 15 April 2022, ending nightfall on SaturdayApril 23, 2022. During this week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we saw the celestial events, including this planetary alignment in Capricornus following PassoverThe predawn sky on April 19, 2022 in Stellarium shows the alignment of Jupiter, Venus, Mars and SaturnThis alignment, preceded by two planetary conjunctions, the first was Jupiter-Neptune in Aquarius on April 12th, and the 2nd on April 18th with Mercury-Uranus in Aries. 5 

These two planetary unions that included the outer planets of Neptune and Uranus, show that these solar system giants were present in a Celestial Alignment even in April, just not visible to the naked eye, as their fellow outer planets Jupiter and Saturn.

Saturn presently rising before midnight, is visible to the naked eye shining as a bright, golden-white orb glowing in Capricornus. This sign pictured as a Goat-Fish reflects Jesus as he embodies one of two goats-Old Covenant sacrificial animals
on the day of Atonement
, the other of which was the scapegoat. Bullinger says of the two goats; the first of which is the sin offering, God gave it to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord.” [Levi. 10:16-17] The other goat, which was not slain, was released into the wilderness. [Levi. 16:22] Here is the death and resurrection of Christ.

On May 30th, a Jupiter-Venus union, started June’s alignment off, with a bang! Unions of Jupiter-Venus have been key in marking the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC, with other similar signs following. As a reminder, the unions of Jupiter-Venus the sky’s two brightest planets, was also one of the signature planetary unions marking the birth of Christ, with the Jupiter-Venus union on Aug. 12th 3 BC, about a month before the Rev. 12 sign on Sept. 11th, 3 BC. We have seen notable replays of these celestial signs with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, as referenced below in August of 2016.

Figure 3. August 15th, 2016 Jupiter-Mercury-Venus triangular union in Leo. 7

ven_jup_160815

This triangular planetary union in Leo is considered part of the signs of the Celestial Sphinx, which occur in Leo the Lion, or Virgo the Woman, the Alpha-Omega signs of the Mazzaroth, that have united these 12 signs in their thematic telling of the Celestial Gospel since their creation in Genesis. Celestial signs like planetary conjunctions and alignments, for example, are key in marking the birth and Return of Jesus Christ.

This spectacular Jupiter–Venus conjunction in 3 BC was marked again last year in the early dawn of Feb. 11th, 2021 is a precursor to the triple union of VenusMercury and Jupiter, with the Moon on the same day. Not only are the Jupiter-Venus unions significant in marking the birth and return of Christ, but also the unions of Mercury-Venus are noteworthy, as referenced by Dr. Ernest Martin.

In his book, The Birth of Christ Recalculated, Ernest Martin states; “On the morning of  September 1, Venus and Mercury came into conjunction only .35 degrees apart...”

Dr. Martin goes on to tell us how this Mercury-Venus conjunction set the stage for the Jupiter-Venus conjunctions around the birth of Christ, highlighted by their spectacular June 17th 2 BC union:

“After the Sept. 1 meeting with Mercury, Venus journeyed back into the light of the Sun, emerging in the West as an evening star about 20 December, 3 BC, and when this occurred, an observer would have noticed the planet just after sunset moving progressively higher in the sky (going more easterly) with each succeeding day. This movement placed Venus on a collision course with Jupiter which was moving westward. At the period when Venus had just passed its easternmost elongation from the Sun (the farthest east of the Sun that Venus ever reaches) on 17 June, 2 BC, the two planets “collided”. They were 0.04 degrees away from each other. This was a most uncommon occurrence. To an observer on Earth, the luminosity that each planet displayed made them look like one gigantic star. It was as if Venus had stretched herself as far eastward as she was able, in order to join with Jupiter as he reached westward to meet her. This conjunction occurred at the exact time of the full Moon. The whole of the evening sky was being illumined from the east by the full light of the Moon, while the western quarter witnessed the Jupiter/Venus conjunction. Professor D.C. Morton, Senior Research Astronomer @ Princeton University, said the conjunction of 17 June, 2BC, was a notable astronomical event [ZPEB, vol. I, pg. 398]. Such closeness had not been witnessed in generations. Roger W. Sinnott, writing in the journal Sky and Telescope, December, 1968, ppgs. 384-386, referred to this conjunction as a brilliantdouble star” that finally gave the appearance of fusing together into a single “star” as the planets drew nearer the western horizon. He said that only the sharpest of eyes would have been able to split them and that the twinkling caused by the unsteady horizon atmosphere would have blended them into one giant “star” for almost all viewers. “The fusion of two planets would have been a rare and awe-inspiring event” [pg. 386]. Here were the 2 brightest planets in the heavens merging together. This was happening at the period when Venus was approaching her time of greatest brilliance.” 9

Leo The Lion

Leo The Lion

The major signs marking the birth of Christ on September 11th 3 BC, are not only sealed with this triple union of Jupiter-Regulus in Leo, but also by this set of Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Leo, including the June 17th sign of 2 BC. In addition, the greater majority of heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ were bracketed by 2 Jupiter-Venus unions in 3 and 1 BC.  The first Jupiter-Venus Conjunction marking the birth of Christ took place on August 31st 3 BC, in Leo with the last one occurring on August 21st, 1 BC in Virgo. Here we find an interesting variation on a Celestial Sphinx sign highlighting planetary conjunctions of Jupiter-Venus, taking place during the first fulfillment of the Rev. 12:1-2 prophecy relating to the sufferings of Christ in his ministry as the Passover Lamb. This alerts us that we should look for similar Celestial Sphinx signs as a precursor to Christ’s Second Coming. In this light, it is with great interest that we discover 3 Jupiter-Venus conjunctions that occurred in Leo, followed by Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Virgo in both 2016 and 2017.

The following dates saw Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Leo in the Hebrew Jubilee year of 2015:

June 30th, 2015
August 25th, 2015
October 26th, 2015 

Jupiter-Venus in Conjunction

jupiter-venus

The following dates, depict similar Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Virgo in 2016-2017:

July 27th, 2016
Aug. 26-27th, 2016 [Jupiter enters Virgo] starting its retrograde in Virgo’s womb
Feb. 26th, 2017
Sept. 23rd, 2017 [Virgo clothed with the Sun/Moon @ feet]-Rev. 12:1-2
Nov. 13th, 2017

Now that we have an idea of the impact of celestial activity of Jupiter-Mercury-Venus, and some of their individual unions as signs of the Celestial Sphinx, we can get a sense of their key roles in the birth and return of Christ. These 2 brightest planets; Venus and Jupiter, teamed up to provide the closest planetary union of 2014, and the closest VenusJupiter conjunction until August 27, 2016, noted above. In the eastern dawn, starting in mid-August, these two dazzlingly-brilliant planets moved closest together around August 18, 2014. This notable Venus-Jupiter union, separated by only 1/3 a degree, was the only one
of 2014, between the first two Blood Moons of the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetrad.

Returning to the June 2022 Grand Celestial Alignment of planets, we find these 5 visible planets appear in the sky as they are ordered in their solar orbits. Scanning from the east-northeast horizon up to the right, we find Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Adding the Moon, which marks Earth’s spot in the lineup from June 23 to 25, which spot is occupied by the outer planet Uranus as viewed from Earth in the banner above, explaining why it is occulted by Earth’s Moon on June 25th.

The June Moon appeared in a series of snapshots, paired to these planets in the order seen below. The Moon, which passed near all five planets in June, makes identifying each planet, on given mornings a lot easier. On Saturday (June 18), for instance, a waning gibbous moon was positioned 6 degrees to the lower right of Saturn, with Neptune.

Super Strawberry Moon-June 14th
Saturn- June 16th
Neptune-June 18th

Jupiter- June 22nd
Mars- June 23rd
Uranus
– Lunar Occultation; June 25th
Venus-June 26th
Mercury-June 27th

Incredibly, the last time this kind of alignment happened was March 5, 1864! The alignment of planets in this specific order last took place in Dec. 2004.

Jupiter the scepter and King Planet- an early morning object, rising in western Pisces,  shining at a brilliant magnitude over 2.5 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in Earth’s sky. The redeemed multitudes seen in Capricorn’s fish-tail, are also embodied in the adjoining fish decans of Delphinus the dolphin, and Pisces Australis, the fish of the south, and decan of the water sign Aquarius. This theme continues with Pisces, as the Moon pairs with Jupiter in this planetary alignment.

Mars finally comes to the fore as it continues to brighten in its approach to Earth. It rises in the east out of its previous conjunction with the slower moving Saturn, in early April, now shining at magnitude 0.5. The Red Planet Mars is distinguished by its crimson red-orange hue, emphasizing the stainless redeeming blood of Christ.

Venus the Bright and Morning Star rises around the time of dawn’s first glow. At magnitude -3.9, Venus outshines its nearest companion in brilliance, Jupiter, nearly fourfold. The Pleiades star cluster is 9 degrees left of Venus prior to being washed out in the sunlight of dawn. 

Contrary to its fleetness, Mercury was
a late arrival to this early planet party. On May 21, it appeared at inferior conjunction, much too dim to see, hovering just above the dawn horizon to open June. On June 16th however, Mercury was at max elongation, 23 degrees west of the sun, at magnitude 0.6, bordering naked-eye visibility, very low in the east-northeast 30-40 minutes before sunrise, not far to Venus’ lower left.

As we have seen, this Grand Celestial Alignment is a somewhat rare, Celestial sign with many implications for the First and Second advents of Christ. With activity like this, it’s easy to keep our heads to the sky, anticipating the Great Hope of Christ’s return for his saints, and the spiritual body of his church. It is great to be a partaker in this Hope with you all!!

God Bless!

Rene’ 


Footnotes

1.Grand Celestial Alignment of 2022
2. Figure 1 picture Credit-Witstars
3. Witness of the Stars, ppg. 76-77 E.W. Bullinger
4. Stellarium Astronomical Software.
5. [https://www.space.com/april-2022-morning-planets-jupiter-saturn-venus-mars]
6. Witness of the Stars, p. 76, E.W. Bullinger
7. 2016, August 27: Venus-Jupiter Conjunction | When the Curves Line Up
8. The Birth of Christ Recalculated, Ernest Martin
9. Ibid
10. Space.com

*Space.com was a general reference for this blog.

 

 

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The Celestial Signs of April 2022 and Passover

 

The Celestial Signs of April 2022 and Passover

Welcome to our monthly blog for April, 2022 which brings a month full of celestial signs, including planetary conjunctions, massings and alignments, many taking place in Capricorn during the month that brings us Passover, in recognition of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. From the opening of this busy month in the sky, the New Moon starts the show on April 1st. Many religious calendars use the New Moon as markers to open the months of their year, the Hebrew being the among the most familiar in Biblical Astronomy. For the Jews, the New Moon ends the month of Adar and starts the Passover month of Nisan which takes place on April 15, this year. April opens with three bright planets massed low in our east-southeast sky just before sunrise. This was preceded by a triangular massing of Venus-Mars-Saturn in Capricornus on March 28th, 2022. In April 2022, these planets VenusSaturn & Mars are only 6 degrees, apart with Venus to the left, followed by Saturn and then Mars. This was followed three days later according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, in the early dawn on the US east coast, with a close fly-by of Mars and Saturn, as the two approached each other closer than an apparent lunar diameter on April 5th, as seen in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Mars-Saturn conjunction in Capricorn on April 5th, 2022. 1

5 Thrilling Planetary Conjunctions Are Going To Take Place In April, And Here's How To See Each Of Them. 1

This union of Mars and Saturn, has some interesting implications as Mars can represent blood due to its redness, which is significant during the month of Passover in light of the perfect sinless blood of Christ, that he sacrificed for all humanity. Mars can also represent the Warrior Archangel Michael as he fights for God’s people, against Satan-embodied in Saturn or Satan’s planet. With this conjunction in Capricorn in April, it recalls the same month our Lord was crucified on April 28th, 28 AD, with a planetary conjunction series nearly 2000 years after Christ’s crucifixion, more on this later.

Figure 2. Capricorn the Sacrificial Goat

See the source image

We find all three planets in the constellation Capricorn, which is very notable with Passover taking place, as these 3 bright planets align in Capricornthe Mazzaroth sign that combines the Goat with a fish. Bullinger tells us that; “in the Goat we have the atoning sacrifice, while in the fish we have the people for whom atonement is made.”2  The redeemed multitudes seen in Capricorn’s fish-tail, are also embodied in the adjoining decans of Delphinus the dolphin, and Pisces Australis, the southern fish of the water sign Aquarius3 As Christ embodies the Passover in Israel, his death and resurrection fulfilled the prophecy of Isa. 53sacrificing his life for the sheep. As Bullinger eloquently puts it; “the living fish proceeds from the dying goat, and yet they form only one body. [Eph. 4] That picture which has no parallel in nature, has a perfectly true counterpart in Grace, and the great multitude which no man can number, is redeemed unto eternal life through the death of their redeemer. 4

This seems to link to the two miracles of the fish to open, and during the resurrection arrivals of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As nobody is able to number the great multitude of people redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps it is fitting that the 153 fish netted in this miraculous catch, is not only a number in the infinite Lucas Series of numbers, but it also relates to the geometric growth of the Acts church via the infinite ratios of Pi, and Phi. This is Christ building the Temple of his body. [Gen. 15:5]

Starting around the 8th of AprilJupiter, which was immersed below the horizon during the first week of April, makes an appearance expanding this alignment with the other three planets to make it a foursome. By the morning of April 19, all four planets are aligned in a diagonal line of a little over 30 degrees; from lower left to upper right: JupiterVenus, Mars and Saturn, as seen in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The mid-April Alignment of 4 planets in Capricorn, 2022. 5

Passover, kicks off the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Pesach for the Hebrew Year beginning at sundown on Friday, 15 April 2022, and ends, nightfall on Saturday, 23 April 2022. Thus, during the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we find the celestial events, including this planetary alignment in Capricornus following PassoverThe predawn sky on April 19, 2022 in Stellarium shows the alignment of Jupiter, Venus, Mars and SaturnThis alignment is preceded by two planetary conjunctions, the first with Jupiter-Neptune in Aquarius on April 12th, and the second on April 18th with Mercury and Uranus in Aries. 6

 

Since it falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, this planetary union of MercuryUranus bears a closer look. Mercury-Gabriel is the Messenger archangel who usually brings attention to what he may be introducing. In this case, Uranus is one of the outer planets of the Solar System, and since it was not visible to the naked eye, it does not carry as much press in the Hebrew tradition. However, on April 3rd, 2022, a Lunar occultation of Uranus, occurred which calls our attention, especially when we consider all the other lunar activity taking place with the planets during this time. The idea that the April 18th union of Mercury and Uranus took place in Aries, is also noteworthy, since the celestial chapter of constellations that opened with Capricorn, the dying Goat, closes with Aries the Ram, with life restored via the blood of the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world, [John 1:29].

Figure 4. The Crescent Moon appears with each of the four aligned planets in Capricorn. 7

In the last week of April, the Crescent Moon takes a snapshot with each of the 4 aligned planets. (Image credit: Stellarium)

The Crescent Moon, looms below Saturn on April 25, Mars on April 26 and finally Jupiter and Venus on April 27. 8 This early morning view of the east-southeast horizon, is greeted the next day with yet another planetary conjunction of Venus and Neptune in Aquarius on April 28th. It is interesting to note that the two planetary unions involving Neptune on the 12th and 28th of April, not only bracket the Mercury-Uranus union on the 18th, but also all the lunar snapshots with each of the 4 aligned planets!

 At a glance, we find the three brightest denizens of the night sky: a 12% lit Crescent Moon, Jupiter 4 degrees top left, and Venus suspended 5 degrees over the slice of lunar light. Venus and Jupiter are separated by 3.2 degrees on the 27th, but only 2 degrees on April 28th, and 1.3 degrees on April 29th. On April 30-May 1, Venus and Jupiter stand together, separated by only .5 a degree in North America. 9 This event occurs during the final week of April with the approaching union of the King Planet Jupiter and Venus, the bright and Morning Star, in Capricornus.

Figure 5. This is the closest Venus-Jupiter conjunction since August 2016(Image credit: Stellarium) 10

The Hebrew name for Capricornus is Gedithe kid or cut off, the same as the Arabic Al Gedi. In Figure 6 below from Robert Wadsworth, we find the star of this name-Algedi in the goat’s horn, with a second star in the goat’sfish’s tail, named Deneb Algedi. This exhibits the unity of the Goat’s sacrificial atonement with the faithful of the spiritual body of his future church, both Jew and Gentile. Many times in Biblical Astronomy the King planet Jupiter plays a key role, as during this time in 28 AD, when we find the King planet in Capricornus, as Jesus finished his earthly ministry. On April 24th, 28 AD, Jupiter was in conjunction with the star Deneb Al Gedi in the fish-tail of Capricornus, as Jesusrulership over the redeemed multitudes seen in Capricorn’s fish-tail, is evident with the Jupiter-Deneb Algedi conjunction in Fig. 6, mirroring the Jupiter conjunction with Venus in Capricorn at the end of April, 2022.

Figure 6Jupiter-Deneb Algedi conjunction seen from Jerusalem on April 24, 28 A.D. 11

 

A key related point with this April 24th sign in Capricornus is this day on the Hebrew calendar was Aviv 10, also the day the Passover Lambs were selected, [Ex. 12:3]. Another meaning of Deneb Al Gedi is the sacrifice comes, which fits since this same day, on Aviv 10 Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey as the perfect sacrifice to redeem all mankind, [Matt. 21:1-11, Zech. 9:9]. 12 

Another celestial sign related to Jesus’ Crucifixion involved the Southern Cross
According to the writings of Richard Hinckley Allen (1838-1908), an expert in stellar nomenclature, the Southern Cross was last seen on Jerusalem’s horizon at 31 degrees 46′ 45″ about the time that Christ was crucified. 13 But due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, a spiraling motion of the Earth’s axis-the Southern Cross shifted out of view further south over the ensuing centuries. The Hebrew name for the Southern Cross is Adom, which means the cutting off, from the prophecy of Dan. 9:26, referencing that the Messiah shall be “cut off.” This corresponds exactly to the Hebrew name for Capricornus as Gedithe kid or cut off, that we saw above in the meaning of the star Gedi. E.W. Bullinger again enlightens us regarding the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet — TAU, which was anciently made in the form of a Cross. 14

Aben Ezra gives the Hebrew name too, of the Southern Cross as Adom, which meanscutting off,as the angel told Daniel of the “cutting off of the Messiah.” And Christ was cut off by being condemned and crucified.”

Joseph Seiss, in his book on the Gospel in the Stars affirms that “the Southern Cross was visible on the horizon of Jerusalem about the time that Christ was crucified. It consists of four bright stars placed in the form of a cross, and is by far the brighest star-group in the southern heavens. Standing directly in the path of the second Decan of Virgo, the double-natured Seed of the woman, and connecting with Libra the price of redemption, it takes the same place in the celestial signs that the Cross of Calvary holds in the Christian system.” 15

Figure 6. The Decan of the Southern Cross. 16

The Southern Cross Constellation

Bullinger discusses how this sign has lost its original meaning of; “It is Finished,” which was Jesus’ last declaration on the Cross at Calgary. As our Lord’s dying declaration, as he gave up his life, for truly none could take it from him, he gave up his “physical” life of the flesh, to obtain eternal life for us all. Christ’s atoning work of redemption is utterly complete and finished when Jesus declared it so. The decan of the Southern Cross is also pictured below in Fig. 7, with Centaurus.

Figure 7. Centaurus with the Southern Cross below Centaurus. 17

See the source image

The Hebrew name for this constellation Bezeh-means despised, which is found in Isa. 53:3; He is despised and rejected of men. The brightest star in the horse’s foreleg; Toliman means the heretofore and the hereafter, marking him as the one which is, which was and which is to come. Sir John Herschell observed this star rapidly growing brighter, making it a possible variable star. 18

From Bob Wadsworth, our late brother in his Biblical Astronomy Newsletter, provided some key historical details on the visibility of the Southern Cross. He showed the “highest position of the Southern Cross seen from Jerusalem in 1000 B.C. At this time, the upper star of the Crux was 17 degrees above the horizon, and the lower star 11 degrees above the horizon. The whole cross was quite visible from Jerusalem around the time of King David.” 19 This links the genealogy of David to Christ through the royal line of Judah.

Wadsworth includes the coordinates of the Southern Cross, seen from Jerusalem on the day of Christ’s Crucifixion as follows; [Newsletter graphics shows] the highest position of the Southern Cross as seen from Jerusalem on April 28, 28 A.D., or the date of the Lord’s crucifixion. The upper star of the Crux was a little over 12 degrees above the horizon, and the lower star was a little over 6 degrees above the horizon. It is most difficult to say if the lower star was visible through atmospheric haze at that time. But it is safe to say that the lower star most likely disappeared from the Jerusalem skies some point between the time of the Lord’s crucifixion and 155 AD, when it was 5 degrees above the horizon at its highest position. Newsletter graphics shows the highest position of the Southern Cross in the year 1000 A.D. Here the upper star is about 6 degrees above the horizon, and the lower star is near 0 degrees. The upper star most likely disappeared from the Jerusalem skies sometime between this date and 1240 A.D., when the upper star was 5 degrees above the horizon at its highest point. This was during the time of the Crusades. 20

The Astronomer Bayer drew the Southern Cross over the hind legs of the Centaur, giving it in his text as moderis crux Ptolemaeo pedes Centauri.” He goes on to say that “it seems remarkable that it was only outlined over the Centaur in the Flamsteed Atlas.” 21

This is unlike the way it is pictured above in Fig. 7, but closer to the way it is found today in the southern hemisphere. Of special interest to our faithful brethren “down under” where autumn is approaching, and the Sun is setting earlier in the southern hemisphere, sunset was at about 6:48 p.m. on April 1, and in Melbourne, Australia it’s at 7:14 p.m. local time. In mid-southern latitudes, by 8:00 p.m. when it is fully dark the Southern Cross was high in the southeastern sky from Melbourne; it is about 40 degrees above the horizon on April 1 (the new moon there occurs at 5:24 p.m. local time on April 1st). The Southern Cross will be above Centaurus, near Alpha Centauri (Rigil Kentaurus). 22

Perhaps our intrepid Michael Toms and some of his “mates” can take a picture of the Southern Crossand post it on the Biblical Astronomy Fellowship Page, with their observations for the rest of us in the Northern Hemisphere? I also want to acknowledge and thank Joseph Damien Cooper for first alerting me to the celestial activity this month, which I’m very thankful for. I can’t always be on top of all the celestial happenings, and the help of wonderful & faithful believers like Joseph, is always much appreciated. He is a great example of how we are the spiritual body of Christ, and we work together to bless each other!

I believe the visible appearance on the horizon from Jerusalem, of the Southern Cross at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, far from chance, served multiple purposes of edification. First, it confirms the Celestial Gospel, reflecting Jesus’ brutal sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary, in a stellar prophecy of the finished work, represented in the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet – TAU,  made in the form of a Cross. A trait of the Gospel in the Stars shows the Creator’s hand in not only forming and making the stars in the skies of the heavens, as a precise timepiece, but also naming and numbering the stars according to His purposes; [Gen. 1:14-19, Ps. 147:4, Isa. 40:26]. This also links the Gospel in the Stars-God’s Word written in the Heavens inseparably with written Scripture. The entire record of OT Scriptural Messianic prophecies of his long-awaited ministry being confirmed, not only in Christ’s birth, ministry, resurrection and Ascension, also confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt in the Gospel of the Stars.

As we recognize Passover and Resurrection Saturday, we certainly have much to consider as we honor and praise our Lord Jesus Christ and his unmatched work of redemption, that freed us from our bondage of the flesh, even as the Jews were freed from their bondage at Passover. As we ever rise above the darkness of this world as the superconqueror we have been made in Christ, this is the only kind of “made man” with eternal rewards.

In Joyful Rejoicing-God Bless!

Agape’ Rene’ 

 

 

Footnotes

1. https://www.space.com/april-2022-morning-planets-jupiter-saturn-venus-mars
2. Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger, p. 75
3. IBID, Footnote p. 75
4. IBID, ppg. 76-77.
5. Figure 3 picture credit; Stellarium
6. https://www.space.com/april-2022-morning-planets-jupiter-saturn-venus-mars
7. IBID, Figure 4 picture credit; Stellarium
8. https://www.space.com/april-2022-morning-planets-jupiter-saturn-venus-mars
9. IBID
10. Figure 5 picture credit; Stellarium
11. Figure 6 picture credit; Biblical Astronomy Newsletter, Bob Wadsworth.
12. Biblical Astronomy Newsletter, Bob Wadsworth.
13. Star Names their Lore and Meaning, p. 185, R.A. Allen.
14. Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger, ppg. 48-50.
15. Gospel in the Stars, Joseph Seiss
16. Fig. 6. picture credit: https://www.space.com/29445-southern-cross-constellation-skywatching.html
17. Witness of the Stars, E.W. Bullinger, p. 40 Figure 7 picture credit on the Centaur with Southern Cross.
18. IBID
19. Biblical Astronomy Newsletter, March/April 1999, Bob Wadsworth
20. IBID
21. Star Names their Lore and Meaning, p. 185, R.A. Allen.
22. https://www.space.com/april-2022-morning-planets-jupiter-saturn-venus-mars

 

 

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