Category: Solar Eclipses

The Wheels of the Cherubim


Welcome everyone to the August 2026 Blog folks! We are blessed in a current class by Rev. Jon Nessle and Ren Manetti on the Book of James, where Jon has recently taught on the First Fruits of a Restored Symmetry of the Creator’s Spiritual Cosmology. The incalculable value of this view, is a central concept in light of the recent blog study on the Cherubim Constellations and the Way of the Tree of Life. [see Nov. 2017 Blog] Their Bible perspectives on a Angelic Spiritual Symmetry in the 1st Heaven & Earth opens new vistas in reviewing Joseph’s dreams of Israel’s 12 tribes tied to the 12 Ecliptic Signs in a Restored Symmetry of Angelic Realms as God renewed Israel’s vitality, in the spiritual Body of Christ, [Eph. 2:11ff]. The Tabernacle’s eastern door is the Way, the truth, and the life, of John 14:6, in Jesus Christ as light of the world, door of the sheep, and the Good Shepherd in [Jn.10], the true way that leads unto life.

We find important keys to this true way in Joseph’s dreams of Gen. 37, below:

Gen. 37:3-11 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept [8104-Shamar]#1 the matter in mind.

A key to understanding this part of Genesis 37 is found as we take notice of details in the record, specifically the obeisance made by the sun, moon, and the eleven stars to Joseph’s sign of Taurus the Bull. The first dream makes no reference to Joseph’s parent’s who are represented as the Sun and Moon in the second dream. Their praise of Joseph’s star is added to that of the eleven stars of his brothers. The meaning of the Hebrew word (*H7812 shachah) to bow down, is to depress, prostrate oneself (in homage to royalty or God), to bow oneself down, to humbly beseech, worship or to do obeisance.#2  This word is used as indicated in verses 7, 9 & 10 above, in reference not only to the sheaves of the field, but also to the sun, moon and eleven stars, with Joseph being the twelfth. Here we find an  image of the Hebrew zodiac foreshadowing the prophecy of Jacob over his twelve sons in Genesis 49, as an image of the Sidereal zodiac, seen in both the sheaves (earthly seed [#2233; zera-Gen. 13:15-17] and stars (heavenly seed; Gen. 15:4-6), each relating to prophecies of innumerable seed tied to Israel. Here we can see a record where the witness of the Stars aligns with the witness of Scripture via God’s revelation to Joseph, to preserve the line of the promised seed of Israel, that the enemy attempts to wipe out in the famine that took Jacob to Egypt. We also find the two seeds mirrored in horizontal and vertical fish of the Pisces constellation in the Celestial Gospel.

Joseph’s first dream had a terrestrial interpretation which was seen in [Gen. 45: 8 & 26], where the same Hebrew word in v. 8, for “dominion” (4910–maschal),#3 has an initial relevance to Joseph’s political position as “ruler through all the land of Egypt.” This was fulfilled when Jacob brought his family to Egypt via God’s direction [Gen. 46:3-4], when Joseph was Grand Vizier.

The second dream however, being celestial in nature, shows a clear distinction from the first dream, indicating that there’s an added aspect of these signs of the ecliptic that we, as students of Biblical Astronomy, must be aware of. The usage of (*H7812) here in Genesis 37, in relation to Joseph’s sign of Taurus, is distinctly different than in Genesis 49:8, where it states regarding Judah that: “thy Father’s children shall bow down (*H7812) before thee.”#4 Clearly, even though the same Hebrew word is used for the homage that Jacob’s children would give to both Judah and Joseph, it cannot mean for the same reason.

The homage due Judah in Genesis 49 has a distinct celestial significance since the Messiah’s ancestral roots came from this tribe [Rev. 5:5], as opposed to Joseph, who embodies the sign Taurus the Bull with its two horns as symbols of Joseph’s sons in the tribes Ephraim and Manessah. [Deut. 33:16-17]

 As Patriarchal Astronomy, saw the poles, ecliptic and Equator all tied to the direction of earth’s axis, shows aspects of precession as part of the Creator’s plan to assess the geocentric view of Earth’s center position in Creation. The earth, is not a literal center of the Universe, but as the focus of the light shed by the other celestial bodies from a Godly view [Gen. 1:14-16], it is the figurative focal point of God’s Creation as man’s garden home. This aspect of the idea of the Sun’s dual year, as the Solar year depicts a heliocentric, or sun–centered solar system, noting it’s Daily/annual glow from earth’s view, as the central light of heaven, versus its cycle of precession. The key point of precession is seen, not only in the 2160 year-ages ruled by the Sun’s residence in each of the 12 signs of the zodiac, but also regarding the Celestial Gospel message of each zodiacal sign linked to the return of the Promised seed-Jesus Christ.

The graphic below from Harmonica Macrocosmica [A. Cellarius, Amsterdam 1660] depicts a Sun centered Copernican view of the cosmos. #4a

harmonica macrocosmica

In a view of the Restored Symmetry of the Creator’s Spiritual Cosmology as it relates to this context, a grasp of the relation between this angelic order in the first Heaven and Earth, is based on God’s perfect foreknowledge of Lucifer’s revolt, and His plan for Man’s Creation included the redemption of Mankind superceding Satan and his fallen angels, exemplified in the Perfect man Jesus Christ, who inherited authority over the 2/3rds of the Angels that retained their holiness, along with the redeemed of Israel with the Spiritual Body of Christ. We see a summary of an intact Angelic Godly order in Ezekiel. 1.

[Ezek. 1:5-6] 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 

In Ezekiel’s vision the Cherubim each had four faces & four wings. As angels work between God and men, we see the traits of the Cherubim, first with four wings and faces at the four corners of heaven. They also have four hands of a man under each of their wings, showing a 4-fold symmetry of service to God in heaven for men on Earth.

Figure 3. The Four Faces, Wings and Hands of the Cherubim

Image result for Cherubim of Ezekiel's vision images

We can see another element of dominion in these four Cherubim faces. In the Man-created in God’s image, with earthly dominion, the Lion–king is over the wild animal kingdom. With the Bull as the king of domesticated animals, the Eagle is the king of the fowl of the air, [Gen. 1:26-28]. In the graphic above, the Cherubim embody 4 cornerstone signs of the Hebrew Mazzaroth at the 4 Compass points and Cardinal Directions. As the Cherubim’s 4 faces embody four royal stars/constellations on the Sun’s ecliptic path, so 4 Cherubim are ever tied to four faces of Man/Aquarius, the Bull/Taurus, the Lion-king/Leo and the Eagle/Aquila.

Exodus 36:35-36 shows details of the colors seen in the Tabernacle’s veil of the Cherubim, as we consider some of this color symbolism in the services of the Tabernacle and Temple.

Ex. 36:35-36 And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with Cherubims made he it of cunning work. And he made there-unto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.

The veil hung from four pillars, embodied the terrestrial number, in earth’s orientation to the four Cardinal Directions and points of the compass. This symbolic number four is prominent in the imagery above, not only in the four pillars holding the Tabernacle’s veil, but also in the Tabernacle’s four colors  shown in the veil. In the four colors Blue represents peace, in God’s presence, seen in the Son of God as the Prince of Peace. Purple represents royalty, and is seen in Christ the King of Kings. Scarlet or Red represents blood, found in the Man Jesus Christ, the high priest offering the perfect sacrifice and sin offering of his own life for our redemption. The linen was White, a symbol of the purity and righteousness of God’s perfect Servant. So, the Tabernacle’s four colors collectively embody the four-fold ministry of Christ as the Chief cornerstone in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, show his dominion over all Creation. As we find, the four pillars link to the four Cardinal Directions, known as the equinox & Solstices on the ecliptic and Equator as these four-corners of the heavens, square the circle of the ecliptic.

These four cardinal points correspond to the four tribes, zodiacal signs and Tabernacle colors as follows:

Eagle/Aquila [replacing Scorpius below, a substitute North]
North/Scorpion/Scorpius/Dan/Red (omitted in Num. 24, Ps. 75:3ff)
East/Lion/Leo/Judah/Purple. (Numbers 24:9)
South/Man/Aquarius/Reuben/Blue. (Numbers 24:7)
West/Bull/Taurus/Ephraim & Manasseh/White(Numbers 24:8)

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

The truths of Jesus as our Shepherd are vividly seen in 3 Psalms 22, 23 and 24, showing the sufferings and glory of the Lord. As Prophet, the Good Shepherd who gave his life not only for the sheep, but for the safe-keeping of all people who come unto him [John 10:11]. As the High Priest and the Great Shepherd, he is the first, last and only door, for the sheep, the Alpha and Omega, which provides the way of access through his blood and resurrection [Heb. 13:20] unto life, into the true spiritual fellowship with our Heavenly Father. As the King and Chief Shepherd, his return exhibits his final glory, coming as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, [I Pet. 5:4, Rev. 19:16].

Thus, like the eastern shepherd, Jesus Christ embodies Jehovah-Nissi: the redemptive name for God protecting His people, [Ps. 23:1]. The Door, or gate gives access to the holiest of all was covered by a veil in both the Temple and the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle veil, hung on four pillars, separated the holy of the holies, the central point of God’s presence among His people, from the holy place. Woven into the fabric of this linen veil, the Cherubim were depicted, as a special class of angels who are prominent in God’s throne-room. They are uniquely seen with four faces corresponding to “four royal signs” of the zodiac, ruling four-corners of celestial pillars in heaven, also seen in the four constellation signs of Num. 24:4-9.

This Celestial depiction of the circuit and Way that God set before the Lord Jesus Christ is found in the 19th Psalm.

Ps. 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament[a] [7540-Gen. 1:6-8] shows [b]His handiwork.#5 2 Day unto day utters speech, [#562-Num. 24:4] And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard–[#8065].

Ps. 19:4-6.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bride-groom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

In Fig. 4 below we find a rendition of the Son/Sun of God running his course consisting of the four Cherubim at the Cardinal points of the Sun’s course on the Ecliptic, [Mal. 4:2-3].

Figure 4. The Four Celestial Signs at the four Compass points; Man, Eagle, Bull and Lion, with Christ in the center-vesica running his course.

The Four Cardinal Points

Ps. 19:7-8 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting [7725] the soul: [5315] the testimony [5715] of the Lord is sure, [539] making wise [2449] the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: [3820]#6 the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Ps. 19:7-8 depicts a pairing of the Heart and Soul, in the trials of our race, as we recover ourselves so we confess our sins to repent and return in fellowship, with God in response to the daily challenges we face.

Ps. 19:14 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, [3820]#7 be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, [6697] and my redeemer.

The pairing of Heart and Strength [Ps. 18:1-2] shows The Lord as our Rock-  one of the 7 Genesis titles of Christ in the OT. As we embody the Lord’s Strength there is nothing we cannot overcome in our race.

Thus, the placement of all four of the royal stars in the cornerstone signs is consistent with the symbolism of emotional, spiritual, mental and physical aspects of all living souls of believers.

Figure 5. Aquila the Eagle above the Serpent-Serpens.#8

Antique constellation map of Sagitta, Aquila and Delphinus. Celestial star chart illustration published in London, 1893. Antique constellation map of Sagitta, Aquila and Delphinus. Celestial star chart illustration published in London, 1893. aquila constellation stock illustrations

Ezekiel’s vision at the river Chebar tells of the living creatures, specifically their four faces, matching the signs at the four Cardinal Directions of the ecliptic. As noted regarding the North, it was omitted for various reasons, the main likely due to the idolatry of Dan’s tribe (Judges 18:30-31). Manasseh was added to replace Dan to maintain 12 tribes, but omitting Dan was not only due to their idolatry, but also because this tribe led the other ten northern tribes into idolatry. This is why in the Cherubim’s four faces, the Eagle–Aquila was switched as the serpent’s natural enemy. We find in the Fig. 5 graphic above with the decan Aquila pictured directly over the serpent-Serpens’ tail @ the lower right, held by the man–Ophiuchus.

Up North we see the Eagle decan face of Aquila [Ezek. 1:10], replacing his born enemy, Dan’s Serpent/Scorpion, the only triple sign man/Ophiuchus, wrestling a Serpent-Serpens, stamping out-Antares‘ Starlight, at the scorpion’s core. The vision of Ezekiel is recorded below.

This analysis of the Four Royal Stars is not only at the basis of the Celestial Gospel, but also in light of the First and Great Commandment in Mark 12:28-34, as we have just seen in Ps. 19.

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first of all commandments? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, it namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

For Mankind to be unified in his Love for His God, he must give ALL his
Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength, in service. The sooner we realize the four fold unity of man, in service the sooner we’ll reap the full benefits of a unified life in our humble service to God. All who answer God’s Call, to serve with our All, in these 4 categories elevate ourselves into a maximum loading zone of God’s Miracle everlasting Abundance.

Several ancient cultures designated four bright stars in the zodiac as the “four corners of the earth” or the “four royal stars.” At the time the constellations were drawn by Shem, these four stars were near the sun’s location in the sky on the 1st day of autumn, winter, spring & summer, regarded as four Cardinal Points of the heavens.

These four stars were well known at the four corners of the ecliptic, the first was a bright red star, Antares that anciently marked the autumnal equinox, in the heart of Scorpius, as the sun appeared the first day of autumn. 

The next bright star Fomalhaut, marked winter, followed by Aldebaran, a very bright red star set 180.0° opposite on the ecliptic from Antares, marked the Spring Equinox, as Antares marked the Autumn. Finally, the bright star Regulus, located almost exactly on the ecliptic, marked Summer. Regulus, was “the Prince,” and traditional leader of these four royal stars. #9 [n]

We find each of the four royal stars in a singular sign of the Mazzaroth’s 12 signs on the ecliptic. Antares in Fig. 5a, in the heart of the Scorpion (Scorpius). In Aquarius–Fomalhaut the Southern Fish–eye seen at the end–stream of the waters poured out by Aquarius, in Fig. 6a below. We find Aldebaran–the Bull’s-eye in (Taurus–reem) in Fig. 8 below. Lastly, Regulus is seen in the Lion’s heart of (Leo), in Fig. 7 below, the king of the royal stars. These four are the corner-stone constellations not only forming the square base of the Great Pyramid, with 4 tribes/apostles mirrored skyward as the chief corners of the ecliptic’s Great Square, also forms a basis of the idea of ‘squaring the circle,’ or ‘cubing the sphere’ in geometry. These truths are added handles to grasp the Gospel in the Stars.

Gen. 3:22-24 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24
So He drove out the man; and He placed Cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

As Rev. Nessle taught Guarding the Way to the Tree of life was essential in preventing the Serpent from gaining access to this tree which would have corrupted Adam & Eve in their fallen state, and cancelled God’s plan for human salvation.

This first Cherubim mention in Scripture sets a precedent for the other four Cherubim who embody the four corners of the ecliptic as the four royal stars on Way holding the Celestial Gospel in the constellations of the ecliptic. As the Lord placed the Cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, with a flaming sword that turned every way, to guard the way to the Tree of life. This is the 1st usage of “Cherubim” Cherub [#3742]-winged order of angel who stood over the Mercy seat in the holiest of all. [Ex. 37:7-9] They are said to rank below the Seraphim, which likely accounts for the Seraphim having six wings and the Cherubs having four. [Rev. 4:6-8]#10

Adam was charged to dress [5647] & keep [8104-shamar]#11 guard as a watch-man, to keep safe, preserve, protect [1Sam. 26:15-16, Job 2:6 Satan is warned not to harm Job’s life] Abner was worthy of death as he did not keep his Lord the king, the Lord’s anointed [#4899], we must keep our mouth’s [Prov. 13:3]. Gen. 18:19, 28:15-20 keep the Lord’s way, [Jacob’s ladder] 37:11 Jacob kept Joseph’s dream narrative, Deut. 4:9 keep our Souls in God’s Word. Ps. 16:1, 25:20, Josh. 6:18 abstain from idols, Ps. 17:4 avoid the destroyer’s paths. Keep the Covenant [Gen. 17:9] God is keeper of Israel, [Ps. 121:4, Ex. 13:18, 21-22, Num. 22:23, 31-32, Deut. 6:7, 10:12, 26:17-19, Ps. 91:11, 103:7, Isa. 55:8-9,]

Ex. 25:17-22
17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it in one piece with the Mercy Seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the Mercy Seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the Mercy Seat. 21 You shall put the Mercy Seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

These Cherubim not only inhabit The Throne-room of the Almighty, along with the Holy of the Holies where the Heavenly Father inhabits the area between the Cherubim above the Mercy Seat. But their unique link in God’s
presence is tied to the wheels appearing with the Personal presence of the Almighty on the Earth. The Vision of the Ancient of Days recorded in Dan. 7:9–10, relates to this;

9 “I watched till thrones were [d]put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The [e]court was seated, And the books were opened.

Here we find the Throne of the Almighty–Ancient of Days was fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;

2Chron. 5:7-8 7 Then the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the
Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the [a] Temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.  8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed [3680] the ark and its poles. [3680–kacah-to cover, clothe, conceal, hide, keep secret, as the pillar of cloud covered the Tabernacle, Num. 9:16, Js. 5:14-20, covering or hiding sins is forgiveness, Ps. 32:1, 85:2, 103:3, 11-12, cp. Prov. 17:9, 28:13, Neh. 4:5, see #3722-Kaphar].#12

Note the similarity and repetitions between 2 Sam. 22 and Ps. 18:10-19 below;

2Sam. 22:7-20 7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears. 8 “Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of [c]heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness [6205] under His feet. 11 He rode upon a cherub,[3742] and flew; And He [d]was seen upon the wings of the wind.[7307] 12 He made darkness[2822] canopies around Him, Dark waters and thick clouds [5645] of the skies. 13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14“The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them. 16 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world [8398] were uncovered, At the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of the breath[7307] of His nostrils. 17 “He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. 18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who
hated me; For they were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,[343] But the Lord was my support. 20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. [Job 22:11-17]

These 2 sections of Scripture in 2 Samuel & Ps. 18 are nearly identical in their witness of God who rides on cherubs or chariots they embody, vanquishing His foes. This got me thinking about the wheels linked to the Cherubim and their movement.

Ps. 18:9-19 9 He bowed the heavens [8064] also, and came down with darkness
[6205] under His feet. 10 And He rode[7392] upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.[7307] 11 He made darkness[2822] His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. [7834]
12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones &
coals of fire. 13 The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, [d]Hailstones & coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows & scattered
[e] the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world [8398] were uncovered at Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath [7307] of Your nostrils. 16 He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. 19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

Ps. 99:1 The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be [a]moved! 2 The Lord is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name
[b] He is holy.

Our God is the only One Who dwells Between the Cherubim as seen with the original Ark of the Covenant resting directly under the center of the Cherub’s outstreched wings, God reigns above the place for atonement between the Cherubim unified in the holiest of all, on the Mercy Seat.

Ex. 37:6-9 6 He also made the Mercy Seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. 7 He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the Mercy Seat:[3727-kapporeth– ark lid, from 3725–kippur, atonement]#13 8 one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the Mercy Seat.
9 The Cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the Mercy Seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

In this same sense we can grasp the Covering Cherub of Ezek. 28:13-16. Every precious stone [9] was his covering, [4540] the workmanship of his tabrets [8596] & thy pipes [5345] pierce a hole for sound was prepared [3559–kuwn] in thee in the day he was created. The repetition in “midst of Stones of Fire” in v. 14-16 shows fiery gemstones of each jewel reflecting the light and sound of their angelic choral units in worship of the Almighty, Lucifer was the Chorus-master. This parallels a repetition of “the day thou wast created” in vs. 13-15, mirrors the “midst of stones of fire” perhaps revealing the creation of his covering with his own inception, and other things. Curiously, “thy precious stones“ were his covering, as he was the cherub that covered–maybe showing   a symbiotic relationship with his bejewelled covering of fiery gemstones, of the chorus master with his orchestra of angelic choral units. [Job 38:7]

 Ezekiel 1 is where we find a treasure of truth on the Cherubim. In v. 4 we read; 4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces,
and each one had four wings. 7 Their [c]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like color of burnished bronze. 8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14And
the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a lightning flash.

The closest thing to this heavenly image of lightning flashes mingled with fire, I can recall is a recent eruption of a volcano, since its is the only natural image I can compare it to. On Sunday, Jan. 12th the Taal volcano roared to life, and this eruption on the volcanic island sent “steaming, ash and rock up 6 to 9 miles into the sky.” On Monday hot lava spewed from the Philippine volcano after it’s eruption of ash, steam and Lightning caused villagers to flee, closing down Manila’s International airport. #14

The image of the Cherubim are first linked to God’s presence in his Heavenly throne-room in 2 Sam. 22:11, Ps. 18:10 where He rode on the Cherub and flew on the wings of the wind. As we have already noted the celestial link between the Cherubim keeping the Way of the Tree of life, and its association with the other four Cherubim at the four corners of the Ecliptic-its enlightening to see the image below of the wheels of the Precession of the Poles, where 2 wheels of the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator overlap to depict the Precession of the Northern Pole star, or the fall of the Dragon [Rev. 12:1-13, Isa. 14:12-22] from his first estate. This wheel of the Ecliptic and Equator certainly fits the description in Ezek. 1:15-17 below of a wheel upon the Earth. In this case we see the one Wheel upon the Earth, accurately since 2 Earthly poles in their Geographic and Magnetic poles on Earth’s surface reflect the poles of the Ecliptic and the Equator, fill in an image of God’s celestial structure of stars
in the sky [Gen. 1:14-17].

Figure 6. The Hebrew “wheel within a wheel” from Ezekiel’s vision. #15

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

This correlation between the four Cardinal Directions of the horizon seems an obvious celestial reference, endorsed by the celestial wheels within wheels tied to the Cherubim, [Ezek. 1:16, 20-22, 10:1-22]. These wheels relate to the celestial structure of the ecliptic and the Equator, as one wheel is seen within the other, with their crossover points as the equinoxes. One Hebrew word for “wheel” in  Ezekiel, [10:2, 10] is galgal [*H1534], #16 a variant of “Gilgal“ [*H1536], #17 the “Hill of God,” [I Sam. 10:5] where Joshua set up an altar of twelve stones [Josh. 4], one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The word galgal is also a root of our word “Galaxy,” showing a celestial context of the wheels into modern days. Similar to the stellar reference of the 12 precious stones of the High Priest’s breastplate, as symbols of the twelve signs of the zodiac, Joshua’s altar marked their entry into the promised land, first deeded to Abraham [Gen. 13:14-15]. As God marked the end of the Israel’s wilderness sufferings even as He marked their exit from Egypt, with a miracle of parting of the waters, both of the Red Sea and of the Jordan River. He also marked the start of Israel’s reign of kings both in the anointing of Saul, with the first Passover in the Promised Land at Gilgal. Josh 5:9-10 has a figurative portrait of this initial Passover, as these “wheels of God’s justice” rolled over the heathen that stood in Israel’s way. 

The position of the Ecliptic around the Earth in Ezek. 1:15 below, 

Figure 7. Earth’s Axis related to the Ecliptic and Equator in Precession

precession of the poles

The Cherubim are a key link to God’s Throne-room in Ezek. 1:15-28;

Ezek. 1:15 15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the
earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the [d] living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living
creatures was in the wheels.  22 The likeness of the [f]firmament above the heads of the [g]living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings
spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two that covered the other side of the body. 24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings.

 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; when-ever they stood, they let down their wings. 26 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were,
the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

The type of spirit fire in Ezek. 1:27 above and Ex. 3:2 the fire of the burning bush.     

This is the spiritual message the heavenly Father intended to be communicated over the face of the Earth, a far cry from idols of “astrological ages” promoted in various cultural myths throughout history. Only with a Scriptural view of the
precession of the equinoxes in its true Biblical context, can we gain wisdom that God has stored for us in Creation’s master temporal cycles. Though at times we see glimmers of true light, shining through myth’s of broken symmetry and on occasion even Astrology, we gain an unobstructed view when we take heed to both of a 2-part harmony of God’s Written Word, with His Celestial Gospel. This approach truly provides a lost history that archaeo–astronomy missed for millenia.

As part of the Creator’s grand design, the 25,920-year precessional cycle of the sun’s apparent retrograde motion against the backdrop of the tropical zodiac, depicts the Sun’s dwelling in successive zodiacal signs, dictated by earth’s shifting axis and equatorial pole. Thus, with the precession of the vernal point/vernal
equinox in mind, Earth’s central position, showing it’s figurative geocentric view, as referred to above, is not only observed with respect to the solar system, but the Earth’s centrality involves a much larger cosmic district than our community roundabout of the planets and asteroid belt. As Gen. 1:16-17 says, not only in the Sun and Moon, but also the Stars were created to shed their light upon the Earth. This includes the entire zodiacal structure, the great celestial wheels of
stars of the ecliptic, the Equator and the historical motion of their poles.

In modern astronomy we imagine a “Celestial Sphere” as reference to conceive of a rotating sphere around the Earth, on which we fix the Stars & Planets, but we understand it’s not the celestial sphere that turns on its axis, but Earth that turns around this axis, generating the illusion that the sky revolves ‘round us, as the Day/night cycle of advances. This was the source of Earth as a Universal center of Creation, opposed by Galileo who championed the Copernican helioc-entrism opposed by the Roman Catholic Church who called him before a Roman Inquisition in 1615, that concluded his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations.[14][15][16] #17a

Today, we know that it is not the celestial sphere that turns as night and day proceed, but rather the planet on which we live. We can put an imaginary stick through Earth’s North and South Poles, representing our planet’s axis. It is because Earth turns on this axis every 24 hours that we see the Sun, Moon, and stars rise and set with clockwork regularity. Today, we know that these celestial objects are not really on a dome, but at greatly varying distances from us in space. Nevertheless, it is sometimes still convenient to talk about the celestial dome or sphere to help us keep track of objects in the sky.

The Graphic in Figure 8 below depicts the equatorial north/south poles extended through the Earth. This depicts the Earth’s axes generating the dual motion of the daily/annual solar cycle, versus the Sun’s retrograde Precessional cycle at the poles. As Earth’s axes generates Northern/Southern polar cycles, we not only view a “wheel within the wheel“ Bible perspective of this cycle, but we find the role of Earth’s axes in the celestial motion of the wheels on this axle, in synch with the timing of the Almighty Who spun the planets in their cycles at Creation. We can envision this in a Figure 8 graphic below, as the great celestial wheels rotate around the Ecliptic North and South poles,

Ps. 103:18-22 18 To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. 19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. 21 Bless the Lord, all
you His hosts, You [c]ministers of His, who do His pleasure. 22 Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Ps. 104:1-6 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a  garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, [#7307] 4 Who makes His angels spirits, [#7307]#18
His ministers a flame of fire. [784] 5 You Who [b]laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. At Thy rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 [c] They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary [1366-gebuwl, bound, a twisted line]#19 that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.

The Flaming Sword [#2719] wielded by the Cherubim of Genesis 3:22-24 can refer also to a figurative sword of Lightning above, in Ps. 104:3-4 linked to God’s holiness and Judgment, to guard the way to the Tree of Life. We also see the “Sword of the Lord“ [Ezek. 21:3-16] to protect the Land of Israel, warring against her enemies.#20  [Rev. 19]

In 2 Sam. 22:11 & Ps. 18:10, we saw the Almighty as He: 10 And He rode [7392] upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. [7307] We find the essence of this truth repeated in Ps. 104:3b-4 above as the Lord rides on His cherubs in His chariots of the clouds, on the wings of the wind. As the Earth’s axis/axle rotate according to God’s timing via its poles, so the great wheels fly on the wings of the wind. Below, in Fig. 8 we see how the Earth is depicted central in God’s Creation, as its axes embody a “wheel within the wheels,” rotating around the axes poles of the Celestial Ecliptic and Equator. 

With Earth as the figurative center of Creation and the object of the three-fold celestial light shed from the heavens, the purpose and beauty of the cosmos is to shed its threefold light upon the earth, as God began with the dual year of the Sun, as seen in Psalm 19 and in Joseph’s two dreams in Genesis 37. We see the dual Solar year, in the Sun’s annual and retrograde precessional cycles, with the Celestial vs. agricultural themes implied in the tree of life, referenced in Joseph’s two dreams.

We can see how the geographic and magnetic Earthly poles are reflected in the North/South Poles of the ecliptic and the Equator, in the sky map seen in Figure 8. below.

magnetic poles

The Sun’s Cycle of Precession

The initial Biblical evidence of precession in Psalm 19, introduces the role of the Solar “dual year,” or its annual and precessional cycles, the two prime standards for astronomical time. This differentiates the Sun’s dual year, first seen in it’s annual cycle, spending one month in each sign of the 12 Zodiacal signs, versus the retrograde precessional cycle, where it spends a “great month” or 2,160 solar years in the 12 signs of the ecliptic. As the Sun moves through all 12 signs of the tropical zodiac, the Sun completes a cycle of the “great year,”  in about 25,920 solar years. The sixth verse of Psalm 19 briefly refers to this apparent retrograde motion of the Sun:

Psalm 19:6 
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

“His going forth is from the end of the heaven… a reference to the Sun’s path through the ecliptic, so called because all the solar and lunar eclipses occur on this course. The words “going forth” in Hebrew are mowtsa [*H4161], meaning the dawn, the east, a gate, the rising of the sun. 55

This refers to the place or gate of the rising of the Sun, also known as the vernal
point of the Spring Equinox, the sign of the zodiac where the sun rise occurs, indicating the sun’s retrograde precessional movement, because the sun rises in a different “gate,” or successive zodiacal house on average each 2,160 years.
The sun’s annual cycle, or solar year is seen in “his circuit” above, which in the Hebrew is (*H8622) tequphah: rendered, “at the end of the year” [2 Chron. 24:
23],#21 an obvious reference to the annual solar cycle. Thus we have in brief, a Biblical contrast between these two solar cycles. The Genesis 37 record of the dreams of Joseph takes us into greater depth on the Biblical testimony of precession. Joseph’s 2nd dream in Gen. 37:9-11 reveals the precessional context, with its use of stellar terms, in particular the “eleven stars making Obeisance” to his star or sign of the Bull, Taurus. The 12 “stars” of Joseph’s dream correlate with Jacob’s 12 sons in Gen. 49 forming the Sidereal zodiac. One can also view the precession of the Vernal equinox as Solar retrograde motion against a fixed background of the sidereal Stellar zodiac in the stars. Thus, Joseph’s second dream reveals astronomical truth that his first dream
with an agricultural theme, does not. This perspective of the Genesis records in chapter’s 37 & 49 can help us differentiate between the various temporal cycles of solar/lunar time, galactic time, supplying elevated views of cosmic time in the motion of the Milky Way Galaxy. The galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, is time required for the Sun to orbit once around the center of
the Milky Way Galaxy.#22[1] A galactic year is near 225 million Earth years. [2]
The Solar System is moving at average speed of 230 km/s (828,000 km/h) or 143 mi/s (514,000 mph) within its trajectory around the Galactic Center. [3]

The axes marked on the zodiac show the movement of Solstices & Equinoxes through the constellations between the foundation of Egypt and the building of the Denderah Temple. Sirius appears twice – once on the true North-South axis, above the horns of the “cow of Isis“, and also on the axis of the temple, as Horus on a papyrus stem. The star’s light illuminated the inner temple on New Year’s Day, at Sirius’ heliacal rising, when the temple was built. In that era, it would have coincided with the summer solstice in Cancer, which is why Sirius also appears aligned to Cancer on the North-South axis.

John Lash points out another axis on the Dendera Zodiac, which goes from the four rams’ heads, through Pisces, across the pole to the star Spica, being held by Virgo. This, he says, is pointing out the position of the vernal equinox today. The line goes through the Square of Pegasus, at exactly 90 degrees to this axis, another line drawn through the tip of Sagittarius’ arrow, pointing to the Galactic Centre, where the solstice alignment took place in 2012. John Lash’s summed up his Dendera theory in Colin Wilson’s book, Atlantis Blue-print., found in the Dendera Zodiac link opening this paragraph.

We must recall that the Rules of the Celestial Gospel tell us that God named & numbered the stars in Ps. 147:4, which is why a History of Biblical Astronomy takes priority over human astronomical history. A goal of Biblical Astronomy records the original star names God gave, to define the truth of the Celestial Gospel, not the idolatry of mankind who corrupted these first truths in their astrologies, that remain forbidden by God, [Deut. 4:15-28, Isa. 47:9-15]. 

Tying the Cherubim to the four royal stars of the ecliptic [Leo, Taurus, Aquila, & Aquarius] linked the four Royal faces the ancient’s tracked seasonal transition points of the year, on the ecliptic goes back to when the king star Regulus was identified in Summer’s solstice in bygone ages. These celestial turnstiles tracked the four gates or annual divisions marked by the Cherubim’s four faces. Just as the first Cherubim protected the integrity of the Ecliptic Sign/Star Names, we too are charged in this solemn duty to protect the integrity of the Celestial Gosspel, with their God given Star names.

Regulus sits near exactly on the ecliptic, the path the Sun, Moon, & planets all travel across our sky, making it a key fixed star point that ancient astronomers had for tracking our Earthly temporal seasons. Historians, or astronomers did not choose the name Regulus, prince of Leo the Lion of Judah, the Almighty and the Creator did, telling us of His only begotten Son-the Lord Jesus Christ, who differs from the Father, being born in the flesh, thus not being Omnipresent.

Rev. 19:13-16 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in [f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a [g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Footnotes

1. Strong’s Concordance [#8104-Shamar], James Strong
2. IBID-(*H7812 shachah)
3. IBID- (H4910–maschal)
4. IBID-(*H7812)
4a. Fig. 4a from Harmonica Macrocosmica [A. Cellarius, Amsterdam 1660] depicts a Sun-centered Copernican view of the cosmos.
5.  Strong’s Concordance [7725] the soul: [5315] the testimony [5715]  the Lord is sure, [539] making wise [2449] the simple. 8 statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: [3820], James Strong
6. Strongs Concordance #7549 Raqiya–Gen. 1:6-8,20, 2:6, Job 26:7, Ps. 104:3, 148:4, Ezek. 1:22-26, James Strong 
7. IBID #3820
8. Figure 5 Picture credit Witness of the Stars, p. E.W. Bullinger
9. Johnpratt.com
10. Strongs Concordance, Cherub [#3742]-winged order of angel, James Strong
11. IBID, [8104-shamar] guard as watchman, to keep safe, preserve, protect [1Sam. 26:15-16, Job 2:6… James Strong 
12. IBID, [3680–kacah-to cover, clothe, conceal, hide, keep secret, as the pillar of
cloud covered the Tabernacle, Num. 9:16, Js. 5:14-20, covering or hiding sins
is forgiveness, Ps. 32:1, 85:2, 103:3, 11-12, cp. Prov. 17:9, 28:13, Neh. 4:5, see #3722-Kaphar].
13. IBID-[3727-kapporeth– ark lid, from 3725–kippur, atonement]
14. https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/jan/13/lava-gushes-from-taal-volcano-in-philippines-in-pictures [Picture credit]
15. Figure 6 picture credit, [Jewishenclopedia.com]
16. Strongs Concordance, A Hebrew word for “wheel” in Ezekiel, [10:2, 10] is galgal [*H1534], James Strong
17. IBID, a variant of “Gilgal” [*H1536], James Strong
17a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
18. IBID, Repetition of [#H7307-ruwach; air for breathing from H7306] in Ps. 103:3-4, refers to His ministers a flame of fire [H784]. Ex. 3:2,13:21, 14:24, 19:17-18, Num. 11:
1-3, 16:30-40, Deut. 1:33, 4:24, 33, Judg. 6:19-24, 1Kg. 18:23,24, 38-40, 19:12, 2Kgs. 1:10-12, 2:11, 6:17, 1Chr. 21:26, Neh. 9:12, Job 1:16, Ps. 105:39, Prov. 25:22, Isa. 43:2, Jer. 23: 29, Ezek. 10:2, 6-7, Dan. 5:20, 7:9-10, 10:6]  

19. IBID, 1366-gebuwl, bound, a twisted line], James Strong
20. IBID, [#2719]-katesthio-to devour
21. IBID, (*H8622) tequphah, James Strong
22a. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/galacticyear
23b. IBID
23c. IBID
24.

 

The Greco-Persian War Astronomical History circa 480 BC

The Greco-Persian War Astronomical History circa 480 BC

Welcome to the May 2026 Blog folks! This month we will view a history of the Greco-Persian Wars, focusing on the Persian side from a Biblical perspective, starting with a line of Persian Kings from Darius–son of Ahasuerus-Spouse of Queen Esther, to rebuilding the Walls and Temple at Jerusalem. This fell into  the times of the Matching Eclipses of 480-469BC, as they reflect in Repeating Eclipses of 2024-2034 AD. This matching of Luni–Solar Eclipses embodies part of the astronomical, archaeological and historical evidence we’re presenting in this study coinciding with the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s Walls and Temple during the period of Ezra-Esther-Nehemiah, aligning with Daniel’s end times prophecies, before Christ’s Return to unify the Church of his Spiritual Body, at the Gathering Together. The preparation of Christ’s Spiritual Body, which he is the Head, includes Messianic Christian Jews with the Born Again Saints in Christ, who is our Peace–having made both One, broken down the middle wall of Partition; has abolished in his flesh the emnity, even dogmatic laws of Commandments contained in ordinances in order to make of the two, one new man in himself, so making Peace. Eph. 2:16 “And that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone in the Temple 

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief Cornerstone, 21 In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy Temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. [Eph. 2:14-22]

As we expand on re-building and dedication of the physical Temple–and walls of Jerusalem, so we must be cognizant of Christ building of his body-and his Spiritual Temple, [Jn. 2:19] as enemies of these spiritual works resist, so we stand together against their hostility, even as our spiritual enemy opposed the rebuilding of the Walls and Temple of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah-Ezra. The following Biblical Structure of Ezra chapt. 4-6; lays out a structural context related to these activities in Ezra-Nehemiah.

The Decree of Cyrus, marked the beginning of a new period in the history of the Jews, issued at Ecbatana in his first regnal year (Ezra 1:1), in the summer of 537 BC, if reckoned from the fall of the Babylonian Empire according to the Jewish method, from fall to fall. Cyrus‘ official decree, (1) dealt with directives, exact specifications on the new Temple, (2) Provided for covering of the building expenses by royal funds, and (3) Commanded a return of vessels of the former Temple to the Jews, (Ezra 6:3-5).

The context of the Structure of Ezra 4, is from E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible for Ezra 4:1-6:22, seen below, is an Extended Alternation;#1

The Temple Building & Dedication

F1; Ezra 4:1-6:15 Building
 G:Ezra 4:1-2; Adversaries/ Temptation
  H:Ezra 4:3; Obedience to God’s Word
   J:Ezra 4:4-16; Opposition Letter to Cyrus
    K:Ezra 4:17-22; King’s Answer-success of plot
     L: Ezra 4:23-24; Work Cessation
      M: Ezra 4:24; Duration of Cessation
 G: Ezra 5:1; Helpers-Prophets-Exhortation
H: Ezra 5:2; Obedience to God’s Word
J: Ezra 5:3-17; Opposition Letter to Darius
K: Ezra 6:1-12; King’s Answer-Defeat of plot
L:Ezra 6:13-14; Work Recommencment
M:Ezra 6:15; Date of Completion

The section reflected below relates to J:Ezra 4:4-16; 6:15– Opposition Letter to Cyrus; in the above Structure. 

Here we find Darius as son of Ahasuerus, while below in Ezra 4:6-7, we see Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes being used as a synonymous repetition for the same king, as Darius’ Father. As in a Biblical sub-Structure of these verses based on related & corresponding a,b,c lines as follows; “A“ link to “A,” “B”  to “B,” and “C” to “C.” “A” In the reign of Ahasuerus links to “A” in v. 6-7; “in the days of Artaxerxes.” To whom & when. “B“; enemies of Judah and Benjamin wrote… “C” contents of letter. “A” The days of Artaxerxes. “B” to Artaxerxes- king of Persia. “B2” Judah’s enemies con’t. “C” Letter’s contents to the King Artaxerxes I from your servants. #2  

Ezra 4:6-11 [A] In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, [B] they wrote an [C] accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 In [A] the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions [B] wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; [see Neh. 2:1,19] and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language… [B2] Judah’s enemies con’t.-v. 9-10–9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions-representing the Dinaites, Tarpelites, Apharsathchites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper [Ashurbanipal] took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond [g]the River and[h] so forth. 11
 [C] This copy of a letter sent him. To King Artaxerxes I from your servants, the men of the region beyond the river, and so forth: [Ezra 4:11-16]

As an addendum to this study; I’m adding a Timeline that emerges from a study brought to my attention by Rev. Nessle on; “Post-exilic Bible Chronology that Identifies Esther’s Husband.” In his work Jon shows; “that Xerxes 1 was too late, and Arsames [Persian] was too early, and that the only candidate fitting all the details given in Scripture must be Darius 1.” Historians usually refer to King Cyrus; conquerer of Babylon, replaced by his son Cambyses, after which Darius Hystapses prevailed. His reign was followed by Xerxes 1, but confusion has centered around a throne name of Ahauserus– “venerable king” as we find in Esther 1:1. The Bible’s use of throne names like this and Artaxerxes, the Great King or Darius “the Maintainer” can be applied to any of Peria’s ruler’s, not to be confused with modern assigned counterparts. Proof Ahauserus was a throne name we find in a preamble to the above Biblical structure; figurative Parenthesis in Esther 1:1, as Rev. Nessle’s query points out; “Why is there a need for explanation unless there were more than one person called by this name?” #2a

In the 6 month reign and time following Smerdis, Darius contended against a number of pretender’s for the throne, till political conditions stabilized, and work resumed on the Temple in Darius’ 2nd-3rd year-[520-519BC]. In Darius‘ Zoroastrian heritage, the Jews likely welcomed a return to more amicable times they enjoyed previously under Cyrus & Cambyses. Cyrus also appointed  a Jew of royal blood, Zerubabel to be governor of the province of Judea, that was part of the satrapy “Beyond the the River,” the great division of the Empire that comprised all lands between the river Euphrates and Egypt. #2b

Three individuals are named as “Governor of Babylon and Across-the-River” between 535 – 486 BC [Stolper1989]. #2c Xerxes I came to throne as the Great King in 486 BC. One of these three has been identified in both Persian and Biblical records of Ezra, “Tattenai, governor on this side the river” (Ezra 5:3; 6:6,13), in Ezra 6:13 below, his office administered portions of Asia Minor and the coastal zone all the way to Egypt; “in this province was all Phoenicia, and part of Syria called Palestine, and Cyprus.” [Herodotus, Histories 3.91].#3

Temple Rebuild and Dedication

Ezra 6:13-15 13 Then Tattenai, governor [#6347-6, prefect Ez. 5:3] of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did as stated by what King Darius had sent. 14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of God of Israel, & according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, & Artaxerxes   king of Persia. 15 Now the Temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.#3a [structure of Ez. 4-6 and rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple]

“Tatnai, governor on this side of the river” (the province called “Beyond the River” from the Mesopotamian view), with his official staff, to Jerusalem (Ezra 5:3), probably on a routine inspection. Since it was long known that the Satrap of the territories of “Beyond the River” and “Babylonia” during the early years of Darius was Ushtani, it was thought that Tatnai was Ushtani’s subordinate in the administration of “Beyond the River,” to aid Ushtani as co-administer of these two large provinces.

Tatnai as a competent Persian official, upon seeing an industrious building site  at the Temple, he asked for the royal permit. The elders of the Jews replied—while Zerubbabel as governor awaited a disposition of the new official. The Jews told the story of the destruction of the first Temple, their captivity in Babylon, and their return under Cyrus, with his return of Temple treasures, and decree to rebuild the Temple. Tatnai was favorably swayed by the work of the Jews, allowed them to continue their project for the present, while research was done for an official written permit, that he reported to the king. To this he added names of the Jewish leaders, requesting an investigation in the archives of Babylon, and a royal decision concerning his attitude toward the Jews, (Ezra 5:3-17, 6:2).

Xerxes the Great; c. 518 BC – 465 BC)[5] was a Persian ruler who reigned as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, via conventional histories reigned from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC, but we are leaning to an alternate date in 475 BC for the death of Xerxes I, below. He was son of Darius the Great and Atossa– daughter of Cyrus the Great. Xerxes’ father was Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC), the monarch of the Achaemenid Empire, albeit not kinsman of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Empire.[8][9] Xerxes‘ mother-Atossa, was daughter of Cyrus.[10] Darius and Atossa married in 522 BC, and Xerxes I was born near 518 BC.[12] #3b

The title of King of Kings appears in inscriptions of kings of Urartu.[2] This title was also used by rulers of the Median Empire, since its rulers borrowed much of their royal symbolism and protocol from Urartu and elsewhere in Mesopotamia. The Achaemenid Persian variant; Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām, of this title, is Median in form, implies Persian Achaemenids may have taken it from the Medes, rather than Mesopotamia.[2]

Xerxes’ co-regency is challenged because he only wrote an inscription (while his brothers Hystapes and Arsames still lived): Xerxes I said: Darius had other sons, but the pleasure of Ahuramazda was Darius my father made me greatest after him. As my father Darius  left the throne, with Ahuramazda, I became king on my father’s throne (XPf §4). But, several carved reliefs at Persepolis show that Xerxes was designated; crown prince, years prior to Darius‘ death. According to a conventional representation of kings, the king seated on his throne was Darius before Xerxes; as Crown prince, [see Fig. 1 shows: a bas relief taken from Persepolis below]. What is difficult to separate in World history, can be easier in Biblical reckoning, as for example: the Bible counts Princes as kings if exerting royal authority during Co-regency-or during the Senior King’s Reign. This appears to be the case with Belshazzar-a key type who was called Crown Prince, [Assyrian Term] in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.

We also find in Dan. 9:1 below;

Dan. 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, made king over the realm of the Chaldeans 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, He would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

In our recent OT History Seminar-Ren Manetti lays out 15 prophecies of Dan. 8:20- in reference to the future Antichrist through Dan. 11:2, with another 40 prophecies-in Dan. 11:1-19 that blend in seamlessly with the Persian historic headlines. All the revelation from God, given to Daniel here is addressed to Daniel, and interpreted by an angel or angels, who insured Daniel grasped what was divinely imparted to him. Dan. 11:1 refers to a 1st year of Darius “the Mede.”#4

Dan. 11:2 says; “Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) 2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he stirred up all against the realm of Greece.

In Greek history 3 kings rose prior to “Darius” the first 2 were; 1. Cambyses, then a missing #2nd Artaxerxes, not recorded in history, only in Scripture-next #3. was Darius 1-“the Mede,” the Father of Xerxes 1, rising as 4th king whose riches passed them all; and by his strength, through his riches he stirred up all against the realm of Greece.”#5 This kingly line matched Darius & Xerxes I’ history and royal geneology, that via Herodotus; their “ancestry reigned for 22 generations covered an 505 yr. era.“#6 Darius’ father [Hystapses] and Grand- dad [Atraxerxes] lived on as he was crowned, in shared co-regency a declared-heir of Hystapses’, appeasing a fractured nobility. Darius‘ ruled the military as the first Persian War opened in 490BC, while Hystapses ruled the Political Administration behind the scenes. So, the 1st Grecian wars opened as Darius 1 was defeated in the 1st Persian invasion, at the 490BC-Battle of Marathon.

In his 2017 “Analysis of the Prophecies of Daniel at the Hope “Mini-Summit” in Tampa, Fl, Rev. Jon Nessle said: in reference to the 70 weeks or “sevens” are weeks of years, or Sabbatical Years which makes the span 490 years. “Most chronologer’s take a starting point of the count in Artaxerxes I’s 20th year, when they say Nehemiah was given the Governorship of Judea so that he could accomplish his goal of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Rev. Nessle disagreed with this, since Xerxes I was NOT the husband of Esther, as most historians suppose. Darius I had to be Esther’s Husband because of the age of Mordecai. A Xerxes I scenario makes Mordechai an impossible minimum of 124 years old in the 12th year, when he was appointed Grand Vizier.”#7

In support of this, Mordecai appears among exiles deported from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, [Est. 3:5] but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king, explaining why Darius should be in power as Esther’s husband during this time.

[Via the Athenian historian– Thucydides, who served as General for Athens during the war, his account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic, and renowned for his accurate chronology, was deemed as one of the earliest scholarly historical works; (The Peloponnesian War I:98;137). Thucydides was born in 471 BC as a defeated Athenian general who turned to writing history after being relieved of command. As a younger contemporary of Artaxerxes I, his History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the warfare between the rival alliances led by Sparta and Athens through the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been called the father of “scientific history” due to his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis of cause and effect with-out reference to intervention by the gods.#7a

From Plutarch (Life of Theseus §§35,36),#7b after Themistocles met with Artaxerxes I, Xerxes’ successor, following the fall of Naxos after Skyros fall, dated with the archonship of Phaedo in 476 BC, Themistocles‘ meet occurred soon after 475 BC, not 465. The present Achaemenid history-mainly sourced from official Babylonian king lists, ignored co-regents and usurpers. Official versions are contradicted by contracts dated “year, month, day,” so proving the existence of frequent co-regencies and usurpers. Also, via astronomical tablet-referenced BM 32234, Xerxes’ death was dated 14/V/21 between two lunar eclipses, one; 14/III/21 (6/26/475 BC), that was total, and a 2nd partial dated 14/VIII/21 (12/20/475 BC), [see Comparison Chart #3 Repeating-Matching Eclipses below]. Thus, Xerxes I death dated on 8/24/475 BC. Also, Artaxerxes I’s death is fixed before a partial Solar Eclipse (3/21/424 BC), by Thucydides (The Peloponnesian War IV:50-52) implying an absurd co-regency of Darius II with a dead king for at least one year! Supporting this, Plutarch and Justinus validly show a long co-regency of Artaxerxes, but with his first son Darius B (434–426).#8

Further support of the 475-474 BC date appears reasonable for Artaxerxes’ 20th year, as his first year in office of Persian “Governor beyond the River,” but not as the “Great King.” As Governor, he was a “king” (Basileus) over the Persian dominions of present day Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel. As Governor, Artaxerxes I would have direct administration of Jerusalem; so, the 20th year of Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1) ruling over Jerusalem was in 454 BC. Both Persian and the Greek records speak of “kings” in reference to one holding governing authority, but still subject to the “Great King.“ Since both Artaxerxes and his father, the Great King Xerxes were alive, a harmonized reading of apparent conflicting histories over the last two millennia comes to the surface. #9

The arrangement of the intercalary months in a chronology without coregency has several anomalies, especially the presence of two months Ulul in a single cycle. By contrast, in a chronology with co-regency, has two distinct cycles, the abnormal intercalary month in year 30 of Darius (Persepolis) links to another cycle ending in year 4 of Xerxes. The titulature of Xerxes (496–475) in Egypt and the data of Diodorus confirm the co-regency of 10 years w/ Darius (522–486), as do Elephantine papyri with many double dates both in civil and lunar calendars. #9a

Rev. Nessle continues: “This fact moves the time of the Jews influence in the Persian State back, and adversely affects any starting point for the 490 year option for Daniel’s Prophecy. The 2nd Temple construction was re-started in Elul 519BC and was finished in Adar 515BC, during Darius 1, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem soon after. Mordechai’s appointment as Grand Vizier and Purim occurred in the winter of 509 BC. The Jewish influence in the Court of Persia persisted eventually involving the appointment of Nehemiah–a known Jew, to a high position as Chief of Security. Rev. Nessle’s belief is that in 501 BC-the 20th year of Darius I, the wall was built. Tishri 1 fell on Sept. 19th, 522BC during a time when the Hebrew Lunar Calendar and months, were synchronous with Babylonian & Persian calendar. Darius assasinated an imposter contending for the throne; Smerdis/Gaumata [?] on Sept. 29th and became king shortly there- after. Therefore his Accession Year was from Tishri 1, 522BC to Tishri 1, 521BC.
So Nisan in his 20th year would have been in 501 BC. If the starting point for the 490 years was the King’s Appointment of Nehemiah for that task, it ends in 11BC, which is not significant for anything. Nehemiah’s King cannot be Xerxes 1, because Nehemiah mentioned him reigning in his 32nd year, [Neh. 5:15]. Xerxes’ reign was only 20 years. If Artaxerxes 1’s 20th year, then 490 Jewish Tishri years results in 44AD.” Rev. Nessle quotes Daniel 9:20-27 here, where he defers to his Appendix from “The Path to Eternity,” where there’s an Introversion  structure signaled by a repetition of [seal] in verse 24. This is the only thing that fits.” #10

“Counting 490 years from the 20th year [501BC] of Darius [Sept. 522BC to Nov. 486, yields 11BC, no significance. Counting 490 years from the 20th year [4454 BC] of Artaxerxes I [465-424] yields 44AD– no correlation. #11  However, with an alternate date of Xerxes I’s death given by Thucydides and others in 475BC, puts the start of the reign of Artaxerxes 1 in the year of 475-474BC, opening a word starting in the 20th year of Persian King “Artaxerxes 1,” according to Nehemiah 2:1-6.

Nehemiah 2:1-6 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King [a]Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence.  2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant finds favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

In year 20 Artaxerxes I- gave his trusted cup-bearer Nehemiah a commission to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1). Establishing the date of this event has created confusion because there are 2 different lines of testimony. Diodorus in his Library of History places Artaxerxes I on the throne in 464 BC, making his 20th year 444 BC. Claudius Ptolemy (2nd cent. AD) adopts Diodorus’ dating in his influential Canon, which provides a list of kings from various countries spanning a 900-year period. Moreover, these dates were copied into Eusebius’ Chronicles during the 4th cent. AD. But, a differing witness, and second line of testimony occurs when historical events correlate with historical writings of Thucydides. Then the date of Artaxerxes I as governor, or sub-king to Xerxes is 474 BC which also was the date Nehemiah was using. A Summary of the debate over last two millennia [McNeil-1970]; “That Thucydides’… is the best evidence we have… If, on the other hand, we refuse Thucydides’ order on faith but try to check it against what we learn from other sources, it becomes evident to check this is improbable. The only other linked account of the 465-450BC period is Diodorus, who to some extent is dependent upon Thucydides… [and wrote] centuries after the events.”#11a

Ptolemy, noted Greek-Egyptian astronomer (2nd century A.D.), in his Canon of the Kings, assigns 21 years to the reign of Xerxes & 41 years to Artaxerxes immediately following. But as the Canon is dated beyond doubt by 19 eclipses and other astronomical synchronisms and signs, it is certain that in official Egyptian reckoning Xerxes’ year 21 (the year 283 in Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era) correlates to the chronology of Olympiads.

Olympiad Chronology

The BC/AD dating system had not been developed even in the time of Eusebius (260-340 AD) [Eusebius – Chronicles] and dating the reign of Artaxerxes as the Great King requires reviewing the Greek Olympiad chronology system. Every four years in the midsummer around August, the Greek city-states, swore oaths to meet together in truce, if not in peace, for the Olympic competition. Because these Olympiads were not linked to the reign of any specific king, or kingdom, they provide a convenient method for dating events in history. The Olympiad counting system began in mid-summer and Olympic years always covered part  of 2 Julian years (mid-Aug. to next mid-Aug.). Olympiad counting was adopted in Greece well before Artaxerxes I. The start date for this counting was 776BC in Olympiad 1. Olympiad reckoning employed both the number of the Olympiad and the year within the cycle, 1-4. Eusebius in his Chronicles carries Olympiad dating from its inception in 776BC to 217AD, the 249th Olympiad. The Olympiad dating is completely reliable for dating Persia’s invasion of Greece by Xerxes I-father of Artaxerxes I, in 480 BC. [Shaw-2003].#11b

Seventy-fifth Olympiad [480 BC]… It was in this year king Xerxes opened his campaign against Greece- Olympiad 75.2 (479 BC; Xerxes year 6/7) Herodotus, Histories, Book 9 – concludes the history of the Persian invasion the following summer, when the Persian forces staying in Greece were defeated at Platea – ending the last Persian incursion on the Greek mainland. Olympiad 75.3 (478BC; Xerxes year 7/8): Athenians returned & rebuild. Thucydides; Peloponnesian War 1.89: “When the Persians, defeated by the Hellenes on sea and land, retreated from Europe, and the remnant of the fleet, had taken refuge at Mycalè, and there perished…

They both [Eusebius & Herodotus] included Artabanus with a seven month reign between Xerxes and Artaxerxes, i.e., in the 4th year of 78th Olympiad (465  14). They also dated Artaxerxes’ year 20 in the 4th year of the 83rd Olympiad. 20/11c

This added research uncovers that “Artaxerxes I” ascended the throne in the year 475 BC, and his 20th year of reign would then be 455 BC. But, some of Christendom’s secular scholars will tell us “Artaxerxes I” began his reign in the year 465 BC, making his 20th year 445 BC, a difference of about ten years. The question then is who is correct? This short study intends to show 4 basic lines of evidence, in support of the date 475 BC. as a correct date for the start of Artaxerxes reign vs. 465BC. A 1st line of evidence: came in the year 1847AD, from a German scholar named Ernst Hengstenberg, in his book: “Christology of the Old Testament“, saying, “For then the 20th year of Artaxerxes is the year 455 BC“, and “Artaxerxes 1st full regnal year began in 474 BC“. Also, the book;“Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy” relates this in a 1999 printing, from p. 197 we find “Ernst Hengstenberg in his Christology of the Old Testament; Artaxerxes 1’s reign commenced in 474 BC, #12 as do other following sources. 

In Archaeological history, the bas relief taken from Persepolis, in Fig. 1, below of the man sitting on the throne is none other than Persian King Darius.

Representations of lions can be found frequently in Persepolis, for the city’s entire purpose, after all, was to direct attention to the great king of Persia. The central relief, now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Tehran, brought the focus of the room and all its carved figures to the image of Darius, seated on his throne, flanked by his son, and receiving the tributes of the visitors.

A Persian coutier leads a foreign delegate by the hand – Persepolis Apadana

A Persian coutier leads a foreign delegate by the hand - Persepolis Apadana
The figures are recognized as Darius and his son Xerxes as they commissioned the work, but the reliefs are also intentionally ambiguous, not capturing any unique features of Darius himself. In that way, the relief serves also as a larger, symbolic depiction of the strong Achaemenid royal line, Great king and ready successor, at the center of the great Persian Empire.

Enthroned Darius with Xerxes behind - central relief of the Persepolis Apadana, found in the treasury

Figure 1. Enthroned Darius with Xerxes behind– central Bas relief of the Persepolis Apadana, found in the Treasury. 12a.

Somewhat unique to ancient kingdoms is the tolerance of the Persian king and empire reflected in those images of the monarchy. Where Greek and Roman art often shows their leaders crushing surrounding nations, the Persian courtiers are shown leading them by the hand to come before Darius. It was a powerful piece of propaganda for all those who entered the halls, but also largely true. Having been violently subjugated by the Assyrians, Cyrus worked to build an empire that would integrate its conquered nations and remain respectful of their cultures and religions.

As we turn our gaze to a history of religious policies of the Achaemenids. The Achaemenid rulers were Zoroastrian, but they were extremely tolerant of other religions in their Empire and even contributed to building of temples and gave special privileges to priesthoods.#12b On cylinder inscriptions; Cyrus records “I gave daily care to his (Marduk’s) work”.12c Cyrus rebuilt the temple of Marduk; Cyrus and Darius both let the Jews deduct rebuilding cost of the Jerusalem Temple from their taxes. Cambyses was no less tolerant.” He and Darius both partook in a ceremony; called “seizing the hands of Marduk” at the statue of Bel-Marduk in Esagila, which entitled them in the eyes of the Babylonians to bear the title “king of Babylon.”

Notice that his attendants to his left and to his right are all lower than him, and that his head is above them all. Now, notice the man standing directly behind him. He is standing on the same elevated platform as the king, and his clothes are almost identical to his. His right hand is resting on the high back of his throne, and his head is at the same level as well. This is unusual, as ordinarily the king’s head would be higher than all others. Who is this man? None other than Xerxes, Darius’ son. Also notice the lotus that is being carried in the left hand of both Xerxes and Darius, and the scepter being held in Darius’ right hand–the king. This image shows powerful evidence that there was, in fact, a coregency between father and son. This same line of evidence has also been provided in the Insight Book Vol II page 615 entitled “Evidence from Persian sources“.#13

A Third line of evidence: is what is known as cuneiform tablet BM 65494 taken from the British Museum. It is a business document from Borsippa dated to the 50th year of Artaxerxes I.

Tablet BM 65494 dated 4/V1/50 of Artaxerxes I Stolper reconstituted the prosopography of Murashu's family and has dated it according to the accepted chronology’*’. According to this reconstruction (choice 1), length of service is 27.5 years for the first two generations, 20.5 years for the third and 11.5 years for the fourth, which would be a surprising rejuvenation’. By contrast, taking into account Darius B (choice 2), we get a more balanced period of activity for four generations with an average of 22.5 years respectively for the first two, then 20.5 years and 21.5 years for the two following ones:

Tablet BM 65494 dated 4/V1/50 of Artaxerxes I –Stolper reconstituted the prosopography of Murashu’s family and has dated it according to the accepted chronology’*’. 13a

In the 2nd graphic provided, the number 50 is written in Akkadian language found is in the lower right corner of the tablet to find it. The final picture below is the Akkadian numerical system, shows how they would write the number 50, which exactly matches this cuneiform tablet, above.#14

This shows robust archaeological evidence of Artaxerxes’ reign exceeded 41 years. And that the 51st year of Artaxerxes was 424 BC, making his first regnal year 474 BC, and not 465 BC as some of Christendom’s secular scholars would have us believe.

Fourth line of evidence: Archbishop James Usher in his book entitled the “Annals of the World“, published back in 1650 AD, made these paraphrased statements “In the year 455 BC, that was the 20th year of Artaxerxes I, when Nehemiah requested to obtain permission from the king to be the governor of Judah and to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-6). This event marks the start of Daniel’s 70 weeks.” #15

These four, powerful lines of evidence, show a correct date to the beginning of Artaxerxes reign, and how we may unlock a secret to the start date of Daniel 9:24-27. Many thanks to Ernst Hengstenberg for his work published in 1847, and James Ussher for his book published in the year 1650AD. I’m also thankful to the British Museum for providing the cuneiform tablet BM 65494, and finally the headquarters staff at Jehovah’s Witnesses (WTBTS) for their help in grasping the regnal year start of King Artaxerxes I’ in 474 B.C., with his 20th year as 455 BC.

The last Year of Xerxes and the 1st Year of Artaxerxes

As we have seen throughout the reigns involved here; regnal-year numbers in the Egyptian calendar are known from astronomically fixed reckoning of Ptolemy’s Canon and synchronisms of several double-dated papyri. It is also known in the Persian calendar from the Saros list, based on the 18-year Saros cycle. #16

ACCESSION OF ARTAXERXES I

Figure 2. Xerxes and Artaxerxes in Three Calendars

The regnal years of Xerxes (shortened in this drawing by an 18-year gap of the Saros cycle) and the early years of Artaxerxes are shown as reckoned (1) In the Egyptian calendar (with years beginning in December), (2) in the Persian calendar (with years beginning in the spring), and (3) in the Jewish calendar (with years beginning in the autumn), all three aligned against the back-ground of the BC years.

The Saros list is extant on two clay tablets containing a series of regnal years at eighteen-year intervals based on a Babylonian Eclipse cycle (published by J. N. Strassmaier in reports in ZA, VII [~Sgz], zoo, 201; VIII [1893], 106). #17 Starting with the 7th year of Nabonidus, this list includes the year of Xerxes and the years 6 and 24 of Artaxerxes.

A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

The death of Xerxes is dated, at the present time, in 465 BC. This date comes mainly from the official Babylonian chronology, however, the testimony of Thucydides and from some Elephantine Egyptian records support dating of 475 BC. A careful chronological analysis of Babylonian astronomical tablets allows a fixing of a precise date of Xerxes’ death on August 24th, 475 BC. An official Babylonian chronology is based on the tablet BM 34576 (King List copy dated 99 BC). #18

Likewise, the death of Artaxerxes I is fixed precisely by Thucydides (The Peloponnesian War IV:50-52) just before a partial Solar Eclipse (21 March 424 BC) which implies absurd co-regency of Darius II with a dead king for at least one year! The arrangement of the intercalary months in a chronology without co-regency has several anomalies especially the presence of two months Ulul in a single cycle. By contrast, in a chronology with co-regency, and two distinct cycles, the abnormal intercalary month in year 30 of Darius (Persepolis) links to another cycle ending in year 4 of Xerxes. The titulature of Xerxes I (496-475) in Egypt and data of Diodorus confirm a Co-regency of 10 years with Darius-1 (522-486), with Elephantine papyri and many double dates with civil and lunar calendars. #19

A popular date of Xerxes 1′ death in 465 BC by mainstream historians, comes mainly from the official Babylonian chronology, recorded in the King’s List such as the tablet BM 34576 (copy dated 99 BC) 1 , but a witness of Thucydides support the dating in 475 BC, added to this, careful chronological analysis of Babylonian astronomical Tablets allows a fixing of a precise date of Xerxes’ death on August 24 in 475 BC. Why do mainstream historians prefer to rely on the Babylonian royal lists to establish the Achaemenid chronology, rather than on evidence from Greek historians who clearly mention several usurper kings and co-regencies?#20

We can agree that the Book of Esther has a historical setting in the reign of Darius, replete with details of Persian court life. A purpose of this study, while not denying romantic and ritual elements and a complicated blend of  of history and religion, is a return to search for historical material, aligned with an Astronomical Chronology especially in Darius/Xerxes‘ reigns, with solid links to the Book of Esther, and a Bible Chronology. A good starting place may be the historical seed in the Book of Esther with religious policies of King Darius I, in whose reign events of the book are set, as his decree singled out the Jews as a religious-ethnic group in Persia for destruction, albeit fomented by Haman. 

An initial question to be answered is the Jewish seed of Mordecai and Esther. The Jewish name ‘Mordechai‘ is found on multiple occasions in the Bible. #21 The name “Mordecai“ shows on a list of Jews who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:2, Neh. 7:7). 2 Now these are the people of the province who returned from Babylonian captivity, of those carried away, by the king of Babylon–Nebuchadnezzar, who returned to Jerusalem & Judah, all to their own city. 2 Those who returned with Zerubbabel: Jeshua; [a man of Pahath-moab with Zerubbabel [Ez. 2:6], Nehemiah, [Neh. 7:7] Seraiah, [1Chron. 6:13-4] Reelaiah, Bilshan, Mordecai, known by some as finance officer at Susa under Darius 1. [Est. 2:7] [c]Mispar, Bigvai, [d]Rehum, [Ez. 4:8] and Baanah, numbered among the men of the people of Israel: The name Mordecai, listed in Aramaic; see G. R. Driver, Aramaic Documents of the Fifth Century BC. (Oxford 1957) 20 n. 2. It also occurs in the Treasury Tablets from Persepolis;
G.G. Cameron, Persepolis Treasury Tablets (Chicago 1948) 85; also found in an undated text, probably from the end of Darius’ reign or the beginning of Xerxes I, an official’s name, perhaps an accountant/scribe, on tour from Susa; #22

There is no other “Mordecai” in the Bible, and every leader on the list of exiles  who returned ie; (Zerubbabel the son of Shetiel of royal blood, Jeshua the high priest, Nehemiah the cup-bearer to the king of Persia, Seraiah the son of a former high priest Hilkiah, etc.) all are VIP‘s! These events occuring next in Nehemiah, happen AFTER the book of Esther, when Nehemiah “is governor” (Neh 8:9), who likely became governor by Mordecai, the Grand Vizier. #22a

Ezra came to Judea in the seventh year of King Xerxes, in 479 BC. We are now referring to the 20th year of king Artaxerxes, and with the death of Xerxes in 475BC and the accession year of Artaxerxes in 474 BC-makes it 455 BC. For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, in disagreement or contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. (Josephus, Against Apion, 1.9) #22b

Josephus goes on to explain the division & categories of the Hebrew OT books:

And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years. But as to the time from the death of Moses, till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the Prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times, in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God; and precepts for the conduct of human life. (Josephus, Against Apion, 1.9) #22c

Josephus continues to explain the CHRONOLOGY of when these were written:

’Tis true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly; but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers; because there hath not been an exact succession of Prophets since that time. And how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do. For during so many ages having already passed, no one has been so bold, as either to add any thing to them; to take any thing from them; or to make any change in them. But it is become natural to all Jews, immediately, and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines; and to persist in them: and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them. (Josephus, Against Apion, 1.9) #22d

The extra books he is talking about are what we would call the “apocrypha.” These include the books of Enoch, Maccabees, Tobit, and many others. However, the last “succession of Prophets since that time” ends in Artaxerxes reign, who is Malachi. And so THAT is the chronology of the last parts of the Old Testament.

As there are 39 books in our Old Testament Bibles, why does Josephus refer to only 22 books? This is due to the OT scrolls not dividing 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, or any of the minor prophets (Amos to Malachi) into separate books. This means the books that Josephus is talking about are the following: #22e

  1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3. Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy 6. Joshua 7. Judges 8. Ruth 9. Samuel 10. Kings 11. Chronicles 12. Ezra/Nehemiah/Esther 13. Job
    14. Psalms 15. Proverbs 16. Ecclesiastes 17. Song of Songs 18. Isaiah 19. Jeremiah/Lamentations 20. Ezekiel 21. Daniel 22. Amos to Malachi-Prophets

This Biblical Chronology provides a superstructure upon which to build our history on much more reliable sources than the testimony of contradictory historians, whose witness however, is valued in agreement with a Biblical Chronology. To return now to a chronology of the Greco-Persian wars;

In 499 BC, the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, incited Hellenic Asia Minor into rebellion against the Persians. This opened an Ionian Revolt, that lasted until 493 BC, progressively drawing more regions of Asia Minor into the conflict.
Aristagoras got military support from Athens & Eretria, and in 498 BC these forces captured the Persian regional capital of Sardis. The Persian king Darius the Great vowed revenge on Athens and Eretria for this. His 492 BC Persian invasion of Greece, as Persian General Mardonius successfully re-subjugated  Thrace & Macedon before several mishaps forced an early end to the rest of his campaign.[3]  Darius then began raising a huge new army with designs to subjugate Greece; but, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, delaying any Greek expedition. After Darius died, his son Xerxes I restarted preparations for a second invasion of Greece, that finally began in 480 BC.#23

In 480 BC, the Persian King led a large army across the Hellespont into Europe, winning military victories at Thermopylae & Artemisium before their defeat & razing of Athens. His forces got control of mainland Greece-north of the Corinthian Isthmus till they were defeated at the Battle of Salamis. Fearing the Greeks might trap him in Europe, Xerxes I retreated with a greater part of his army back to Asia, leaving behind Mardonius to continue his campaign.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. Impression from a cylinder seal, sculpted c. 500–475 BC, at the time of Darius I Metropolitan Museum of Art.#23a


 

At the Battle of Thermopylae, a small force of Greek warriors led by King Leonidas of Sparta resisted much larger Persian forces, but were ultimately defeated. Via Herodotus, the Persians broke the Spartan phalanx  after a Greek man called Ephialtes betrayed his country by telling the Persians of another pass around the mountains.

In 480 BC, following the Battle of Thermopylae, all of Boeotia fell to the Persian army. Thespiae and Plataea, the two Greek cities that resisted Darius I, were captured and subsequently razed, as a surviving Athenian population evacuated, by the Greek fleet, to Salamis. [1]

After Thermopylae, Athens was captured. Most of the Athenians abandoned the city, fled to the island of Salamis before Xerxes‘ arrived. Xerxes I ordered the Destruction of Athens, leaving an archaeologically intact destruction layer, called “Persian debris.” 

The following Charts for Repeating-Matching Eclipse Tetrads in 2024 AD with 480 BC, show how our current Eclipse decade of 2024-2034 match the ancient Eclipses of Darius/Xerxes I, open in 480-479 BC. They also match the 3 Blood Moon Purim Eclipses to open the Purim Holiday for Israel in Persia under Queen Esther and Mordecai. Considering Darius I’/Xerxes military history aligned with this key eclipse period, we can gain a more complete image and impression not only of Modern Persia, reflected in today’s Iran, but also a spiritual perspective of the building of the Wall & Temple of Jerusalem, and perhaps even the Coming building of a Third Temple, that the Jewish Temple Institute stands ready to enact.    

Comparison Chart #1 of Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2024 AD with 480 BC.#24
Eclipse Date AD Sun/Moon Eclipse Date BC
3/25/2024 AD Lunar 3/25/480 BC
4/08/2024 AD Total Solar 4/09/480 BC Total
9/18/2024 AD Lunar 9/18/480 BC
10/2/2024 AD Annular Solar 10/2/480 BC Annular

Battles of Salamis and Plataea

The Battle of Salamis (26-27th Sept. 480 BC) won by the Greek fleet, followed Xerses I setting up a winter camp in Thessaly. [The history of April 8th/ Sept. 18th/ Oct. 2nd, 480 BC, eclipses, is mirrored in Chart 1 above.]

The Persian active military campaign against the Greeks initiated a battle in Salamis, fought in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in Saronic Gulf near Athens, marked a high point of the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece, arguably the largest naval battle of the ancient world, marking a turning point in the invasion.[8]

According to Thucydides: Themistocles manifested a desire to visit the king of Persia (…) The storm caused the vessel to drift towards the Athenians camp who  then besieged Naxos (…) Guided by a Persian coast, then he penetrated into the interior of the country and sent to Artaxerxes, who had succeeded Xerxes, his father a letter (The Peloponnesian War I:98;137). Therefore, he reports the fall
of Naxos after the one of Skyros dated at the beginning of the archonship of Phaedo in –476BC, according to Plutarch.#24a This, meeting with Themistocles would have occurred soon after 475/474BC. Furthermore, Themistocles died under the archon of Praxiergos (in –471BC) according to Diodorus Siculus (Historical Library XI:54-60), and Herodotus situated the transfer of power from Darius to Xerxes at the time of the revolt of Egypt, four years after Marathon, or –486, #24b and the change Xerxes/Artaxerxes shortly after the storming of Eion [dated –476 BC], last event of  reign of Xerxes.#24c. Though heavily out-numbered the Greeks persuaded by Themistocles returning the Persian fleet to battle, hoping victory might prevent naval advance against the Peloponnese. The Persians were also eager for a decisive battle. So, the Persian navy rowed into the Straits of Salamis in an effort to block both entrances. But in the cramped waters, the great Persian numbers proved a detriment, as ships struggled to maneuver, becoming disorganized. To sieze the opportunity the Greek fleet formed in line to win a victory. The Naval battle as the Repeating-Matching Eclipses in Chart 1 above, reflects modern Iran’s attempt to control the oil traffic via straits of Hormuz, and loosing their entire Navy in the process.

The majority of the Persian army retreated to Asia, leaving Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece. The following year the remainder of the Persian army was defeated at the Battle of Plataea and the Persian navy at a Battle of Mycale. The Persian ships were then captured and burned. The complete destruction of the Persian navy, along with the destruction of Mardonius’ army at Plataea, decisively ended the invasion of Greece. After Plataea and Mycale, the Greeks went on the offensive against the Persians, marking a new phase of Greco-Persian Wars. The Persians made no further attempts to conquer Greece, as the battles of Salamis & Plataea marked a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian Wars. The Greco-Persian wars were a series of conflicts between Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states starting in 499 BC[i] and lasted until 449 BC. This near 50-year period of conflict reflects a near 50 years of conflict between US/Israeli’s vs. Iran today. The historical reflection of ancient and modern Iran pointed out above is mirrored by astronomical activity typical in these periods in ancient Persia and modern Iran, in Repeating Purim Blood Moon Eclipses. 

 The last time there was a set of Triple Lunar Eclipses on Purim, before the current triad of 2024-26; and 480 BC–2500 years ago, was from 1978-1980; as the radical Islamic revolution and terrorist regime in Iran first took power! It’s interesting that one Total Lunar Eclipse on 3/24/1978 and two Eclipses in 1979 & 3/1/80 match Purim dates 3/13/1979 with a 3/14/2025 Lunar Eclipse in  Chart #2 below with Summer Lunar Eclipse of 9/6/1979 with 9/7/2025 and 479 BC!  This serves to foreshadow the Purim events of 2024-2026! After a March 1979 Islamic Republic referendum, with 98% approval- a shift to an Islamic republic, the terrorist radical regime has been in power nearly 50 years.

Xerxes left a contingent in Greece to finish the campaign under Mardonius, who according to Herodotus suggested the retreat in the first place. This force was defeated in the next year-479 BC; [See March 14/29th-9/7 Eclipses in 479BC in Chart 2 below, the following year at Plataea by the Allied forces of Greek city-states, ended the Persian invasion of Greece for good.

Comparison Chart#2 for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2025 AD with 479 BC#25
Eclipse Date Eclipse type Sun/Moon Eclipse Date Saros#
3/14/2025 AD Partial Lunar 3/14/479 BC 34
3/29/2025 AD Total Solar 3/29/479 BC 60
9/07/2025 AD Partial Lunar 9/07/479 BC 39
9/21/2025 AD Annular Solar 9/21/479 BC 65

In Book 7.37, Herodotus describes the movements of the Persian forces as they gathered to invade Greece in 480 BC. The King wrote what follows: “At the start of its journey, the sun left its seat in the heavens, disappeared and although the sky had been especially clear and cloudless, day now eclipsed into night.”#26 Xerxes himself observing this, was concerned. He asked his Magi of the Zoroastrian’s-the portent’s import. They said “the god showed the Hellenes in advance and they left their cities, as the sun prophesied for the Hellenes, but for the Persians it was the moon.” This speaks to Purim’s 3 Blood Moon Lunar eclipses in a row, related to the import of their linked Soli–Lunar Eclipses in 480-478BC matched with today’s repeating eclipses in 2024-2026 AD, in context of the current US/Israeli war with Iran!

In addition, the only Solar Eclipses that fit Xerxes’ description in 480BC are the 4/09/480BC Total Solar and the 10/2/480BC Annular Solar Eclipses. In 479BC only the 3/29/479BC Total Solar and the 9/21/479BC Annular Solar Eclipses fit the bill of “day now eclipsing into night.” [see Chart #1 above]

The editors of the Landmark Edition of Herodotus provide a footnote here explaining that “this purported eclipse cannot be verified by astronomical calculations.”27 Historians have argued about this for centuries– in an article published in “The Observatory” in 1884, W.T. Lynn noted that the issue might be the dates given by Herodotus. While the article finds no Solar Eclipse evidence visible in Asia Minor/Anatolia in 480BC, it appears Solar Eclipses took place in 481 & 478 BC.”#28 However, the dates given here for both Lunar and Solar Eclipses obviously verified by NASA’s Five Millennium Canon of Eclipses and other modern resources, hold Eclipse records are proven to have happened in 480-478BC- the Repeating-Matching Eclipses renewed in [2024-2026 AD].#29
Based on scholarly & historical sources, we can confirm what was previously may not be visible; for unknown causes. These dates not only match Esther’s reign with Darius I/Xerxes as he readied his forces to attack Greece, but also draws unique reflection to our current decade of Repeating-Matched eclipses. Below the example is found cited above as “Xerxes’ Eclipse…“

Xerxes’ Eclipse– Note
“…while he was offering sacrifice to know if he should march out against the Greeks, the sun was suddenly darkened in mid-sky…“
– History, IX, 10, Herodotus  #30

The fact that Xerxes, while offering sacrifice to the monotheistic god Ahura–Mazda of the Persian–Zoroastrian Religion of the Biblical Magi, was able to consult the Magi in his Army on the meaning of this eclipse, is striking in light of their wisdom revealing Celestial signs of Christ’s birth with the Repeating signs circa 480-469 BC/2024-2034 AD. In 481 BC, as part of Xerxes 1‘ lead-up for the 2nd invasion of Greece in Greco-Persian Wars, the Xerxes Canal dug via an isthmus of Mount Athos peninsula, had provisions stored on Thracian road, & 2 pontoon bridges, later known as Xerxes‘ Pontoon Bridges were built across the Hellespont. This is noteworthy, as of the few monuments left by the Persian Empire in Europe.[1]

Histories of ancient Greek historian Herodotus, recounts the events of the Greco-Persian Wars, the Persian commander Mardonius, in 492 BC, lost a great part of his fleet, 300 ships & 720,000 men, in a storm going around the cliffs of the Athos peninsula, during the First Persian invasion of Greece.[2]

Xerxes, in preparation for the Second Persian invasion of Greece, in 483 BC had a channel built through the Athos isthmus in order to avoid falling prey to the similar disaster. According to other astronomical tablet notations BM 32234, Xerxes I’ death-  dated 14/V/21 between 2 Lunar Eclipses, one dated 14/III/21
6/25/475 BC, that was partial, and the 2nd dated 14/VIII/21 [12/20/475BC] was total, dates the death of Xerxes I-on 24 August 475 BC. [see Chart #3 below]

 Comparison Chart#3 for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2029 AD with 475 BC#30a

Eclipse Date Sources Saros Sun/Moon Eclipse Date Source Saros
1/14/29 AD T&D/Nasa 151 Partial Solar 1/14/475 BC    
4/13/2029 AD Apophis 99942 Asteroid flyby    
6/12/29 AD T&D/Nasa 118 Partial Solar 6/12/475 BC    
6/25-6/29 AD T&D/Nasa 130 Partial Lunar 6/26/475 BC LBAT 51
7/11/29 AD T&D/Nasa 156 Partial Solar 7/11/475 BC    
12/6/29 AD T&D/Nasa 123 Partial Solar 12/6/475 BC    
12/20/29 AD T&D/Nasa 135 Total Lunar 12/20/475 BC LBAT 56

Haman’s intended Genocide for the Jews is mirrored in today’s modern Iran. As Haman intended Genocide for the Jews, so modern Hamas terrorists show a similar hatred for Israel, seen in their October 7th atrocities. We also find a reflection of the reversal that Haman brought on himself, being hung with his 10 sons on the very gallows he made to hang Mordecai! [Est. 8:1-8]. In the Iran of today– Ayatollah Ali Khameni and his 10 top leaders met their final ruin on Saturday–Feb. 28th, “Sabbath of Remembrance“-3 days before a 3rd [2024-2026] Blood Moon Purim Eclipse 3/3/2026–in a row, on the Jews annual victory bash recalling Haman’s demise! As we consider this Purim Eclipse culminated at maximum on 3/3/2026 @ 3:33am (PST), we note many Bible references to the number “3” linking God’s descent in a cloud, (Ex. 19:9–11; John 2:1; weddings, and 1 Cor. 15:4 with resurrection, all of which denote “spiritual completion,” as a spiritual symbol for the number 3. #31 

Part of the Purim celebration includes a Torah Reading in Jewish Synagouges of Haman being blotted out, [1 Sam. 15:2 -3] as Khameni and his leaders, were bombed out by Israeli/US forces. Iran has been busy developing the Nuclear bomb to bring “death to America and Israel” for decades, but were themselves Bombed into submission on this day! As Haman & his Sons had their gallows, so Khamanei & his sons got their bomb. As Haman rose so many generations after Amalek’s fall, so Khamanei pursued so many generations after Haman, but our Lord recalls the ancient battle vs. the seed of evil, [Gen. 3:15] as the Almighty wrote it in the Sun, Moon & Stars in Repeating-Matching Eclipses of our day in the current Purim Lunar Eclipses!

The February 28th –“Sabbath of Remembrance“ recalls Exod. 17:8-16 Amalek in a battle with Israel at Rephidim. In 1 Samuel 15:2 the Lord recalls Amalek and his actions against Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way [#1870] as Israel came up from Egypt. It’s no coincidence that Ali Khameni met a demise on this Sabbath of Remembrance, so near the 3/3/26-3rd Purim Blood Moon in a row! This aligns with God’s Promise in Ex. 17:14 below that; “I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

Ali Khameni-as a notorious ruler since 1989, having recently massacred 40K+ of his own Iranian people, while sponsoring the likes of Hamas and terrorist proxies, Hezzbollah with other Palestinian groups vs. the US and Israel. Not only do we find the link to a Sabbath of Remembrance, but we too find dates Matched- to Repeating 3/3/478 BC Purim Lunar Eclipses, on the same March 3rd date with another Lunar Eclipse in 478BC, during Esther’s reign with Ahaseraus/& Mordecai! The Purim feast is a permanent yearly notice and celebration of Israel’s victory and Freedom from Haman’s Genocide, evident in history. It’s also a main reason for these Repeating, Matching dates seen in current events of 3/3/2026 Purim Lunar Eclipse, with the signs of Repeating-Matched dates of a decade of Luni-Solar Eclipses from 480-478BC to 469 BC.

Exodus 17:14-16 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial; [#2146-to pierce, invoke in memory]#32 in the book and recount it in hearing
of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, [f]The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

The generations of Amalek from Agag and Esau in 1 Samuel 15:2-3, we find Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, [Est. 3:1], shows a priority in God’s Mind concerning Israel’s generational enemies, with a low ranking of Amalek’s seed, so “the Lord desired war with Amalek.” As God looks on the heart of Men, there can be no better Judge of mankind than Almighty God. [Est. 3:1], shows Haman in Hebrew; (the Agagite) is named pouyaooq, but ‘Agagite‘ means descendent of Agag, king of the Agagites, first, for the Jewish readers of Esther, evidenced by Josephus, in the Talmud and the Targums, took Agagite as implacable enemies of Israel, that they proved to be. Lewy found in Esther 3:6 a verse where Haman’s plot to destroy Mordecai and all Jews in the kingdom of Ahasuerus, the genocide of “the people of Mordecai.” Thus Greek translators of Esther modernized an old term “Agagite“ into pouyaooq, as a meaningful form for Greek speaking Jews. #33 

The Book of Esther is set in the reign of Darius/Xerxes as heavily committed to Zoroastrianism of an orthodox variety. There was a temple of Ishtar and certainly worshippers of Marduk in Susa at this time. We agree the religious persecution referred to in the Book of Esther originally was not Persians vs.  Jews, but only Haman’s Agagite hatred of the Jews, as they lay in wait for Israel coming out of Egypt, in Exodus 17.

Thus, We have not yet heard the end of God’s Judgment on Agag!

In Elephantine Papyri, and inscriptions from Persepolis, devotees of Ahura-Mazda are referred to as “worshippers of Mazda.” This logic seems to fail as for the Zoroastrian Magi “Ahura-Mazda” was a monotheistic God like that of Hebrew Jehovah, not like the idolatrous Mithraic gods or Egyptian trinities, many times seen as Sol/Ra; the Sun-god, Luna-mistress of the Moon, & Saturn, who-often is seen passing a dagger or short sword to Mithras, in ancient icon-ography of Bull sacrifice.

It also occurs in the Treasury Tablets in Persepolis;

17 Although many biblical critics and scholars from antiquity argued that Esther and Mordecai are merely theophoros names and represent secular names, much as Jews in Daniel 1:6-7 had Jewish and Babylonian names [see Moore, op. cit., 19],#34 the collocation of the names Esther and Mordecai, the names of a Babylonian god and goddess, [Marduk & Ishtar] as close cousins and skewed images in the Babylonian pantheon myths, even as Esther and Mordecai were cousins in their family at Persian Court.

In summary, I find the history of the Greco-Persian Wars a fascinating aspect of both a Historical and Astronomical record, as they relate to Bible History. The times of ancient Persia and Greece represent a key period of prophecy in the Book of Daniel, related to Nebuchadrezzar’s Dream Statue and the kingdoms of history. Even more, an overlap of this period with Repeating-Matching Eclipses of 480-469BC as they match with our current decade, speaks volumes in light of current events, prophecy and ancient history. I invite all comments and feed-back as these topics are open for discussion on my Biblical Astronomy Fellowship page in the Facebook forum.

God Bless!

Rene’

 

Footnotes

1. E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible for Ezra 4:1-6:22, p. 623.
2. Ren Manetti’s Notes on Ahasuerus & Artaxerxes–OT History Class.
2a. “Post-exilic Bible Chronology that Identifies Esther’s Husband.” J. Nessle
2b. https://www.biblechronologytimeline.com/biblechronologytimeline5b.html
2c. https://biblestudentarchives.com/documents/Artaxerxes20thYear.pdf
3. Herodotus, Histories 3.91.
3a. E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible for Ezra 6:15-22.
3b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Iran
4. Ren Manetti’s Notes on Dan. 11:1-19 from OT History Class.
5. Ren Manetti’s Notes on Dan. 11:2 from OT History Class.
6. E.W. Bullinger’s Companion Bible, App. 57 ppg. 80-81.
7. Analysis of the Prophecies of Daniel at the Hope “Mini-Summit” in Tampa, Fl, Rev. Jon Nessle
7b. Plutarch (Life of Theseus §§35,36)
8. Intercalations during the co-regency of Xerxes with Darius I, in NABU 2020-4, pp. 273-279. By Gerard GERTOUX
9. https://biblestudentarchives.com/documents/Artaxerxes20thYear.pdf
9a. https://www.academia.edu/2421036/Dating_the_reigns_of_Xerxes_and_Artaxerxes
10. Analysis of the Prophecies of Daniel at The Hope “Mini-Summit” in Tampa, Fl, Rev. Jon Nessle
11. IBID
11a. https://biblestudentarchives.com/documents/Artaxerxes20thYear.pdf
11b. IBID
12. Christology of the Old Testament; 1999 printing, p. 197 Ernst Hengstenberg
12a. Fig. 1 picture credit, [https://www.thecollector.com/fascinating-facts-from-the-bas-reliefs-of-persepolis/]
12b. Cyrus Cylinder
12c. Ibid
13. A bas relief from Persepolis, in the Insight Book Vol II page 615 entitled “Evidence from Persian sources“ in the Archaeological Museum of Tehran.
13a. Tablet BM 65494 dated 4/V1/50 of Artaxerxes I –Stolper
14. Akkadian numerical system shows how to wrote the #50, that exact match.[https://www.academia.edu/99055324/_King_Artaxerxes_475_BCE_or_465_BCE_ And_the_seventy_weeks_of_years_]
15. “Annals of the World,” by Archbishop James Usher book published 1650 AD.
16. Horn and Wood, op. cit., pp. 14-16, 20; Thiele, 09. cit., pp. 28-31.
17. J. N. Strassmaier in reports in ZA, VII [~Sgz], zoo, 201; VIII [1893], 106).
18. Babylonian chronology based on tablet BM 34576 (King List dated 99 BC)
19. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312069819_Dating_the_reigns_of_Xerxes_and_Artaxerxes] Data of Diodorus confirm a Co-regency of 10 years with Darius (522-486), with Elephantine papyri.
20. King’s List from the tablet BM 34576 (copy dated 99 BC).
21. [see V. Ryssel, Zusdtzen zum Buch Esther (Tiibingen 1900) and L. B. Paton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Esther, (New York I908) 51-54].
22. A. Ungnad, Keilin-schriftliche Beitrage zum Buch Esra und Ester,” ZAW 58 (I940-4I) 240-244 and addenda in ZA W 59 (1942-43).
22a. https://jcalebjones.com/2021/09/07/the-complete-chronology-of-ezra-nehemiah-and-esther-fully-explained/
22b. IBID
22c. IBID
22d. IBID
22e. IBID
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great
23. Impression from a cylinder seal, sculpted c. 500–475 BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art
24. Comparison Chart #1 of Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2024 AD with 480 BC.
24a. [Life of Theseus §§35,36]
24b. [Diodorus Siculus’ Historical Library XI:54-60]
24c. Herodotus [The Histories VII :106-107]
25. Comparison Chart#2 for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2025 AD with 479 BC
26. Xerxes’ Eclipse, Book 7.37, Herodotus History, IX, 10,
27. Landmark Edition of Herodotus provide a footnote
28. The Observatory” in 1884, W.T. Lynn noted the dates given by Herodotus, as the article finds no Solar Eclipse evidence visible in Asia Minor/Anatolia in 480BC, it appears Solar Eclipses took place in 481 & 478 BC
29. NASA’s Five Millennium Canon of Eclipses, Time and date.com
30. [https://www.eclipsewise.com/extra/SEhistory.html#-479BC]
30a. NASA’s Five Millennium Canon of Eclipses, Timeanddate.com.
31. Number in Scripture, E. W. Bullinger on #3, ppg 107-122.
32. Strong’s Concordance [#2146-to pierce, invoke in memory] Ex. 17:14-16.
33. GG. Cameron, The Persepolis Treasury Tablets (Chicago 1948) 85; A. Ungnad, Keilinschriftliche Beitrage zum Buch Esra und Ester,” ZAW 58 (I940-4I) 240-244 and addenda in ZA W 59 (1942-43) 219. 16 Lewy, op. cit., 128 n. 14.
34. IBID, Moore, op. cit., 19
35. Certain Historical sections of this study were taken from Wikipedia where the links remain active for reference.

Triad of Purim Blood Moon Eclipses from 2024-2026 with signs of 70-71 AD.

Repeating-Matching Purim Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses of 70-71 AD and 2016-2028.

Welcome to the March 2026 Blog everyone! This month has witnessed key Middle East developments with Iran, Israel and the US, as we find ourselves in a critical time marked astronomically by omnious notable Celestial signs of Repeating Eclipses reflected, as 3 current Purim Eclipse Tetrads in a row, set against their ancient counterparts in Queen Esther’s Bible text-the Book of Esther, 1st in a Series of Repeating-Matching Blood Moon Eclipses opened starting in 480 BC. This has singular bearing in light of current world events related to the present state of Israel and the United States, against a modern fundamentalist terror state in Iran-ruled by Anti-Semetic/US radical Muslim clerics and their proxies, until recently led by Ali Khamenei, with a majority of his top leaders-until they were taken out by Israeli and US forces.

These Celestial Signs directly refer to this weeks’ 3/3/2026 Purim Blood Moon, the 3rd of 3 Purim Blood Moon Eclipses in a Row in 2024-2026! It’s interesting that Blood Moons are Biblically mentioned only 3 times -[Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20, and Revelation 6:12], as these Blood Moons link to end-time events. Thus, the events tied to Blood Moons deserve our focused attention, especially as they  relate to Israel today! Thus its with heightened interest that we take special note of a 3rd Blood Moon in a row from 2024-2026 that occurred the morning of March 3rd 2026, as the last Blood Moon till 2029! The last time there was a set of Triple Lunar Eclipses on Purim, was from 1978-1980; when the radical Islamic revolution in Iran took place! Before then, there were triple sets in 1959-1961 and in WW2 from 1940-1942! But none of these were visible from Israel. This cycle of 3 Consecutive Annual Purim Blood Moons is thus a very rare event in history, surely demanding our undivided attention. 

May be an image of text that says 'A BREATHTAKING CELESTIAL EVENT! TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE- MARCH 3, 2026 TOTAL Penumbra ECLIPSE Umbra Blood Moon Totality: GlowingBlooMoo 58 Minutes FULLY VISIBLE across Western U.S. RARE SELENELION: SUN ECLIPSED ΜΟΟΝ SEEN SIMULTANEOUSLY (Eastern U.S.) PEAK VISIBILITİ B TIME ZONE ET CT 6:04-7：02 A.M. 5:04-6：02 A.M. 4:04-5：02 Α.Μ. 3:04-4:02 Α.Μ. PT T MT PEAK VISIBILITY TIMES BY TIME ZONE 6:04-7：02 Α.Μ. 5:04-6：02 A.M. 4:04-5：02 Α.Μ. mT 3:04-4:02 Α.Μ. PT cT'

Even more when we consider how this cycle of 3 Purim Blood Moon Eclipses in a Row matches the Repeating Eclipse Tetrads from 480BC to 469BC during Queen Esther’s Reign in ancient Persia, confirms added reasons to reognize related Middle Eastern events. This is specially true as we realize this week’s specific match with a 3rd Purim Blood Moon Eclipse in a row, on March 3rd, 2026- a Repeating Purim Blood Moon Eclipse that occurred 3/3/478 BC seen in Chart #3 below, matching the exact date in 478 BC during Esther’s Reign in ancient Persia! This celestial replay echoes battles faced by Queen Esther against the Evil Haman, who was also bent on Jewish Genocide in ancient Persia, as Iran-the largest world sponsor’s of terror for nearly the last 50 years have incessantly vowed “death to America” and Israel.

A Comparison Chart #2 below shows an Eclipse Season, or-“A period of about a month, occurring about every 6 months, as orbits of the Earth, Sun, and Moon align such that Solar and Lunar eclipses occur. During this season, the “lunar nodes” – the line where the Moon’s orbital plane intersects the Earth’s orbital plane – align with the Sun and Earth, such that a solar eclipse is formed during the new moon phase and a lunar eclipse forms during the full moon phase. #1

Comparison Chart #2 for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2025 AD with 479 BC #2
Eclipse Date Eclipse type Sun/Moon Eclipse Date Saros#
3/14/2025 AD Partial Lunar 3/14/479 BC 34
3/29/2025 AD Total Solar 3/29/479 BC 60
9/07/2025 AD Partial Lunar 9/07/479 BC 39
9/21/2025 AD Annular Solar 9/21/479 BC 65

These two Repeating-Matching Eclipses of the Eclipse Season in the month of Sept. 7th [Lunar] & 21st [Solar] occured in late Summer and early Fall of 2025, led to the Eclipses of Chart #3 below, including the #3rd Purim Blood Moon Eclipse on 3/3/2026.

No photo description available.

Comparison Chart #3 for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads 2026 AD with 478 BC #3
Eclipse Date AD Sun/Moon Eclipse Date BC
2/17/2026 AD Solar 2/17/478 BC
3/03/2026 AD Lunar 3/03/478 BC
8/12/2026 AD Solar 8/12/478 BC
9/28/2026 AD Lunar 9/28/478 BC

In 2015 when the Penumbral Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse on Purim Feast took
place during a Hebrew Jubilee Year, it drew our focus for the following reasons. First, shortly after the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad- a 5th Lunar Eclipse fell on the key Hebrew Feast Day of Purim, as no small matter added to the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, showed us a first ever Blood Moon Quintet in 2014-2016! Purim, thus effected Hebrew timekeeping by marking the Jubilee Year.

The uniqueness of the 2016 Jubilee Year was that Purim fell on March 23rd, on the exact time the Lunar Eclipse took place, although as a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, the entire Lunar surface was not fully eclipsed. It fell 120 days after The Super Blood Moon on September 28, 2015, the last of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad. This September 28th, 2015 date happens to Match the Repeating Lunar Eclipse falling on 9/28/2026 in Comparison Chart #3 above, reflecting a Lunar Eclipse on the same date during Queen Esther’s Reign in 478BC! This not only affords us a direct astronomical link mirroring the list of Celestial Signs of 2014-2015, but also keys to the significance of Rev. 12 sign unions of Jupiter–Venus and Venus–Regulus marking the Birth of Christ in his Celestial Encore. [Ties to Plate 3 Info]

There is some confusion about the numerics and operation of the Jubilee Cycle. Jubilee Years are based on the Shemitah Years occurring every 7th year. Seven Shemitahs (7×7=49 years is Shemitah of Shemitah’s). The year following the 7th Shemitah is a Jubilee. The Jubilee Year after the 7th Shemitah becomes the 50th year. However, if the Shemitah cycle continues every 7 years, then the next Jubilee year becomes the first of the next Shemitah cycle, where a next Jubilee follows 49 years after the first. But, if we start a next Shemitah cycle after the Jubilee then you have Jubilee years occurring every 50 years, but, this breaks the 7 year cycle. Bible scholars remain in disagreement as to which version is right. There is a method based on a 49 year cycle that keeps the 7-year cycle intact, which makes the most sense.

Specifically, Purim began on the Hebrew Calendar on Wednesday evening, March 23, 2016 through Thursday night, March 24th. It was also the first full Moon after the Spring Equinox. As a key transition to the last decade of 2015-2026 these Purim Feast Blood Moons set the stage for the appearance of the 3 Purim Eclipses in a Row; opening Repeating Matching Eclipses in 2024-2034!

One cannot help, but be struck by the unique and very rare occurrence of a Tetrad of Four Blood Moons during the Shemitah of Shemitah’s, followed by the Jubilee coming with yet another Lunar Eclipse on Purim, forming a Quintet of Blood Moons on Hebrew Feast & Holidays from 2014-2016! This 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad followed on Wednesday evening, March 23, 2016 to Thursday night, March 24th as another Purim Lunar Eclipse to set a transitional link to [3] 2024-2026 Purim Eclipses in a row, to bond Queen Esther’s ancient era to modern times via Purim Lunar Eclipses. This bond ties Esther’s Purim Lunar Eclipses to modern Iran, as Haman foreshadows the incited Genocide of Israel in Modern Iran, impelled by our same spiritual adversary who always opposes Israel as the genetic source of Jesus Christ-the Promised Seed. 

The Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm of David.
110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

As King David wrote these inspired words from God, Who was prophetically addressing David’s Lord, [Jesus Christ], to sit at the Heavenly Father’s own right hand [Eph. 2:6-7], so we as the spiritual body of his Church can enjoy the same bird’s eye view of Creation, with his enemies under our feet; [Eph. 1:19-23]. God has sent us the Rod of His strength, embodied in Christ Jesus, out of Zion to rule over our enemies!

The Hebrew word for “rod” here [H4294–mattah], is a scepter of rulership, authority, and judgment. It is also used of a branch or staff linked with the tribal authority of each of the 12 tribes of Israel. #4a The word for “rule” here  is [H7287-radah], meaning to tread down as crushing grapes with one’s feet or in a winepress; [Rev. 19:15], used of exercising dominion, to subdue, prevail,  subjugate, or reign. #4b We can see this authority exercised by Christ in verses 5-6 below where; “He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations…”

There is also an interesting Talmudic idiom associated with this word, tied to the idea of taking bread out of an oven. #4c [Jn. 6:31-35, 48-58 G#740, 1Cor. 10:16-17, 11:23-34]. This idiom is one for birth, that survives today as; “she has a bun in the oven,” but more importantly in Communion. We have already seen quotes on this in Rev. 12 with the Birth and Second Coming of Christ to declare the King of Kings, in his everlasting righteous Kingdom. Rev. 12:5 tells us the “woman brought forth a man-child to rule” & shepherd nations with his “rod of iron,” compares closely to this record in Psalm 110.

3 Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4
 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” [Heb. 7:10-28]

Ps. 110:4 provides another critical aspect of the Lord’s ministry to Israel and all Mankind; as High Priest. In the Jerusalem Temple as the Tabernacle, the High  Priest always performed a special sacrifice once a year in the Holy of Holies, at the Ark of the Covenant, to cover the sins of Israel on the Day of Atonement. Since the blood of bulls and goats could never satisfy the requirements of man’s complete redemption, a more perfect sacrifice was needed, embodied in Jesus Christ as the Passover Lamb and High Priest, not of Aaron’s Priesthood, but after the everlasting priesthood of Melchizedek. This Righteous Priest–king symbolized in Jupiter–the king planet, called the Zedek planet–a Hebrew word for “righteousness,” typified in the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Righteous King. Genesis 49:8-10 says this scepter is from Leo the Lion of Judah. The brightest star in Leo, the royal tribe out of Jacob’s seed is Regulus, meaning “king,“ in Hebrew–Melech. Thus the Jupiter-Regulus triple coronation in 3-2 BC, at the birth of Christ not only crowned the righteous King, but also forms the two elements of the title “Melchizedek,” reflected in the triple union of Jupiter– Venus in Leo, as these two brightest planets were aligned in Regulus in the Summer and Fall of 2015. Here we find two of three callings of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King.

Figure 2. Christ the High Priest

Christ the High Priest
Christ the High Priest after Melchizedek

In this light we can understand Balaam’s great prophecy in Numbers 24, below where the star, also identified with the scepter, is coming out of Jacob.

 Num. 24:17 “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh, there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and he shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.”

“Star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel“- Star = [H3556–kowkab], #4d Figuratively an illustrious Prince who is the star rising out of Jacob, holding the scepter as ruler over Israel. We note the figure of speech utilized in this verse regarding the authority of the sceptre held by the Prince. This “star” linked with the sceptre rising out of Israel, is a celestial reference to the sign of Leo the Lion with specific references first for it’s brightest luminary–Regulus the king star, and brightest star on the ecliptic also known as the “heart of the Lion.” The King’s sceptre is the symbol of his power over the heathens and those who oppose his purposes, as he will rule over them with unbending authority or a “rod of iron,” [Ps. 2, Rev. 19:15].

Regulus was known by the ancients as the fixed king star that is linked with this scepter. This fulfills Jacob’s prophecy, that one holding this scepter would arise from Judah according to Gen. 49. Secondly, the regal authority of this star is established in the king planet–Jupiter, whose dominion as we have just seen, was symbolized by Leo the Lion, of the tribe of Judah– providing the regal stock from which the kingly line of Israel arose, first in King David, and ultimately in Jesus Christ from the “root of David” [Rev. 5:5]. The triple planetary Conjunction of the mobile king planet-Jupiter, with the fixed king star-Regulus in Leo from 3-2 BC, thus aligns with the prophecy of Genesis 49: 8-10, showing the maturation of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Balaam’s revelation here in Numbers 24:17 gives a Scriptural basis for a link between the “star of Jacob” [Regulus] and “Jupiter’s– Sceptre,” to the advent of Christ the King, who rose out of Jacob’s genealogical line. Thus we can see maturation of the Lion from cub to the full prowess of the reigning King in the dual elements of Rev. 12, as they apply both his birth and sufferings, to the full glory and authority of his Kingship, as he establishes his kingdom on earth.

The details of the correlation between the triple Conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus in 3-2 BC, and the record in Gen. 49, are expounded in greater detail in the following video on “The Biblical Astronomy of the Birth of Christ,” seen below.

The Triple Conjunction of Jupiter-Regulus and Genesis 49.

As we just saw in the video above, the prophecies of Balaam in Numbers 23-24 correspond to Jacob’s prophecies in Genesis 49, because they not only both deal with the destiny of Jacob/Israel in general, but they prophesy of the Promised Seed- Jesus Christ specifically, in Rev. 12:1-5. The Prophesied man-child of Rev. 12:5 who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, is the embodiment of the sceptre of holy power, that God “caught up” [G726–harpazo] to his throne at God’s Right Hand. #4e 

An evident and recurring dual theme in Rev. 12 is not only the birth of the King of Kings, but also the birth of his Kingdom of everlasting righteousness. [Rev. 12:10]. Thus we find clear references to this Kingdom, in the authority of he who rules with a rod of iron, symbolized in the king’s scepter-Jupiter. In a previous post [The Blood Moon Tetrad and the Rev. 12 Heavenly Signs [Part 2.] a “birth“ of Jupiter from Virgo’s womb, leads to a Rev. 12 sign –Sept. 23rd, 2017, leaving Virgo after 42 [6×7] weeks in retrograde, a normal human gestation period, that combines the gestation period of Christ the human woman’s seed– created by God spiritually in her with sinless blood. This is based upon Jesus‘ human [6] geneology in Luke as Son of Man, with his spiritual geneology in Matthew as the Son of God, comparing and contrasting his human [6] and spiritual [7] ministry elements to mankind. 

This fits with the connotations of the Hebrew word for “rule” noted above in Psalm 110:2, linked to the Talmud’s birth idiom, for the coming King. As this emphasis was evident in the skies of 3-2 BC, at Christ’s birth, as we saw a triple Conjunction of Jupiter–Venus taking place in 2015, all in Leo. The key element confirming the Jupiter–Venus unions was their alignment with Regulus on the ecliptic in Leo, carried not only the original import of Regulus‘ triple crowning, with the king planet Jupiter, but Regulus as seen with Venus the Bright Morning Star hold critical weight [Rev. 2:27-28] also! The planetary union symbols show the King planet Jupiter-uniting in Venus–the Bright and Morning Star, aligned with Regulus in Leo-the Lion of Judah, [Rev. 5:5], over a four month period.

These planetary unions were followed by Jupiter–Venus unions in Virgo in 2016-17, depicts a Celestial Sphinx sign, another link to the Giza Plateau. This Triple Conjunction of Jupiter–Venus, the two brightest stars in the skies after the Sun and Moon, is key in light of the addition of Mercury, leading to their planetary alignment with Regulus in Leo, forming Virgo’s Crown, in a repeat of the Rev. 12:1-2; “Great Wonder in Heaven” on Sept. 23rd, 2017. 

The following list dates not only the Jupiter–Venus unions in Leo during the transition from the Hebrew Sabbatical year to the Jubilee year of 2015-16, but other key planetary unions and heavenly signs as Venus–Regulus unions in the woman Virgo and Leo the Lion in this period:

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June 30th- July 1, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus]
July 17th, 2015 [Venus–Regulus in Leo]*
July 31st, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus in Leo]
August 5th 2015 [Venus–Mercury in Leo]
August 6th, 2015 [Regulus-Jupiter–Mercury in Leo]
August 7th [Jupiter–Mercury in Leo]
August 7th [Mercury–Regulus in Leo]
August 11th 2015 [Jupiter-Regulus in Leo]
August 29th 2015 [Venus–Mars]
Sept. 13th 2015 [Partial Solar Eclipse]
Sept. 17th 2015 [Sun clothing Virgo with the Moon at her feet]
Sept. 17th 2015 [Mercury–Spica in Virgo]
Sept. 21st 2015 [Hebrew Jubilee Year opens on the Day of Atonement]
Sept. 28th 2015 [Final Super Blood Moon, Feast of Trumpets]
October 8th, 2015 [Venus–Regulus in Leo]*
October 17th-18th, 2015 [Jupiter–Mars in Leo]
October 21st, 2015 [Orionids Meteor Peak]
October 25-26th, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus]
October 28th, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus, Mars unite in a 1° triangular massing] in 2016.
October 29th, 2015 [Mercury–Spica in Virgo]
Nov. 2-3rd, 2015 [Venus–Mars]

We find the sky was thick with heavenly signs leading to and including the Final Super Blood Moon of the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad. The 1st three notable signs on this list show a Venus–Regulus union bracketed by 2 Jupiter–Venus unions in the first 3 signs in July of 2015! This is a conspicuous opener as we consider the importance of Venus–Regulus unions aligned in the Christ Angle built into the Great Pyramid’s Ascending Passage. [see Plate 3 below]

As there were 3 Jupiter–Venus Conjunctions marking the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC, so this triple union of Jupiter–Venus aligned with Regulus in Leo, mirrors a similar spiritual light in 2015. In fact, the Rev. 12 heavenly sign: the [Sun clothes Virgo with the Crescent Moon at her feet] on September 17th, 2015 is declared by Mercury-Gabriel located just outside the womb area of Virgo above Spica/ Al Zimach, 2 years before the repeat of the Great Wonder in Heaven, on Sept. 23rd, 2017! But there were more heavenly signs involving Jupiter–Venus after this, leading up to the birthing of Jupiter in retrograde motion in Virgo. These include added brackets of a Venus–Mars union between August 29th, 2015 and Nov. 2-3rd, 2015, that encapsules two Mercury–Spica unions in the 2nd half of signs in 2015.

As we compare Jupiter’s retrograde in 2017, with Jupiter’s motion at the birth of Christ, we find some key correlations. First, it was the planet Jupiter that led the Magi to Jerusalem in search of the Promised seed. In [Matt. 2:2,9] the Magi saw Jupiter [his star in the east; G395-Anatole] meaning “in the rising.”5 The King Planet Jupiter’s annual orbits including its retrograde motion, began via Dr. Earnest Martin, on December 25 in 2 BC. As Martin states:

“Jupiter arrived at its ordinary time for retrogression and it became stationary among the stars. But this time something unusual happened. In 2 BC as seen from Jerusalem, Jupiter came to its normal stationary position over Bethlehem on December 25th…not only that, the planet assumed its stationary position while in the middle of the Constellation of Virgo, the Virgin.” 6 Thus, according to Dr. Martin, the same astronomical motion forming Jupiter’s 3 Conjunctions with Regulus, its annual retrogression, or retrograde motion  triggered Jupiter to stand still in the heavens for 6 days near the crossing point of the ecliptic and the Meridian mid-body in Virgo. This took place during celebration of the Feast of Dedication-Hannukah in December of 2 BC.

Also recall the relationship between the cycles of the Sun and Jupiter, and that it was the Sun, mid-bodied in Virgo for the 20-day period, in 3 BC from August 27 to September 15th, that marked the birth of Christ, as prophesied in Rev. 12:1-2. Martin goes on to say that:

“on December 25th, 2 BC at the ordinary time for the pre-dawn observations, of the Magi, Jupiter appeared in Meridian position (directly over Bethlehem) at an elevation of 68 degrees above the southern horizon. This precise position would show the planet shining directly down on Bethlehem while it was stationary among the stars.” 7#

Martin’s assertion that Jupiter began its retrograde motion on December 25th, 2 BC, agrees with research by V.P. Wierwille regarding the beginning of the Feast of Dedication, that year from 12th-22nd to 29th. Wierwille, also points out that;

 “As the Magi left Jerusalem, they saw Jupiter on its nightly course. Looking south they saw it high in the sky, nearing its apex on the Meridian of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.” #8

 As, the king planet–Jupiter was mid-body in Virgo, even as the Sun was during the birth of Christ, mirroring the light of the world, clearly marking the birth-place of the King of the Jews for the Magi. These key celestial indicators for the Magi, who would have seen the spiritual import of “his star” Jupiter, in Virgo’s mid-section during December in 2 BC, directly over Bethlehem, revealed the birthplace of the King of Kings, who inherited David’s throne.

This background is designed to set the context for the current conjunctions and celestial events from 2024-2026 covered above, marking current war involving the US & Israel with Iran. The context includes a decade of Celestial signs in the list above from 2016-2026.

 The Venus–Jupiter union, May 23, 2024, was one that occured too close to the Sun for easy observation, although the August 12, 2025, conjunction was easily visible before sunrise. These key Jupiter–Venus unions occur during the 2024-2026 current Triple set of Purim Lunar Eclipses-a table below lists an outline for the next 3 Venus–Jupiter conjunctions, in 2026-2028.

Venus–Jupiter Conjunctions, 2024-2028, Chicago, Illinois
Date When Notes
May 23, 2024 a.m. The planets are only 0.2° apart, but the conjunction is only 3° from the sun. Not easily visible.
August 12, 2025 a.m. One hour before sunrise, Venus is nearly 20° up in the east-northeast. Venus–Jupiter, 0.9°.
June 9, 2026 p.m. One after sunset, Venus is over 15° above the west-northwest horizon.  The Venus–Jupiter gap, 1.6°.
August 25, 2027 p.m. The planets are 0.5° apart, but about 4° from the sun. Not easily visible.
November 9, 2028 a.m. Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Venus is over 20° above the east-southeast horizon, 1.7° from Jupiter. Spica is over 10° below Venus.

Last year’s two “blood moons” came as Israel completed a final stage of the military campaign to defeat Hamas and free Gaza from its terrorist infestation. On the heels of Israeli and US efforts to end the Iranian nuclear threat with direct military strikes inside Iran.

May be an image of planet, eclipse and text that says 'Don't Miss These March 2026 Sky Events Saturn Mars Mercury Venus Jupiter March 3 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon) March 1-4 Planetary Parade Continuation Venus Moon Mars March 7-8 7- Venus-SaturnConjunction Venus-Saturn Conjunction Mercury March March14-18 14-18 Moon-Mars-Mercury Morning Trio March 20 MarchEquinox March Equinox March10-25 March 10-25 Zodiacal Light Peak Season'

With that uncertain geopolitical stage as a backdrop, the world witnessed a “Ring of fire” Solar Eclipse on Feb. 17, 2026. On Feb. 27-28, 2026 the Planets aligned for US & Israel’s strikes on Iran, set to be followed by a 3rd consecutive “Purim Blood Moon” on March 3, 2026, a few days later. The second eclipse, the “blood moon,” lasted nearly an hour on March 3, 2026, visible across the America’s, Asia & Australia. This culminates 3 months later in a June 9th, 2026 post-sunset Jupiter–Venus Union, with only a 1.6° gap in between planets. To complete the four Solar and Lunar eclipses of 2026 we can see an Aug. 12, 2026, Total Solar Eclipse, in Comparison Chart #3 above of Repeating Eclipse Tetrads for 2026 AD Matching 478 BC & Aug 27–28, 2026 — Partial Lunar Eclipse as seen below.

The first of those events is a “ring of fire” eclipse where the Moon passes in between Earth and Sun, without entirely eclipsing the Sun, allowing a halo of its fiery glow to still be seen. The “ring of fire,” a.k.a. an Annular Solar Eclipse, will mainly be visible in southern South America, Africa, and the Atlantic. A 3rd major celestial event of this year, a Total Solar Eclipse, then passes over the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal, and northern Spain.

The Feb. 17, 2026 “ring of fire” and the Aug. 12 Total Solar Eclipse also kick off a new series of eclipses in each category. Space.com is calling this unique set of events “a Golden Age of Solar Eclipses.” From 2026 to 2028, Earth encounters a double eclipse cascade — 3 Total Solar Eclipses (August 2026, August 2027 &  July 2028) with 3 Annular Solar Eclipses (February 2026, February 2027 & Jan. 2028) — a repetition of a pattern last seen from 2008 to 2010. #9

The “rings of fire” occur in Feb. 2026, Feb. 2027, and Jan. 2028. Then, in August, we will kick off a stretch of 3 Total Solar Eclipses in just 710 days. These three Total Solar Eclipses occur on August 12, 2026, August 2027, and July 2028.

‘A Golden Age of Solar Eclipses’: 3 Total Eclipses & 3 ‘Rings of Fire’ in 3 Years! Starting Feb. 17, we find a cycle of 3 “Ring of fire” Eclipses within just 3 years, as well as a series of three Total Solar Eclipses within the same three years! This symmetrically links God’s Judgement on Israel tied to Hebrew Mysteries  reflected in a repeating pattern of 3 Eclipses with 27 [9×3] Historical Seiges of Jerusalem below, consummated in the Blood Moon Tetrads of 1948-49 with the reforming of the State of Israel and 1967-68 reclaiming of Jerusalem by Israel.

In the Blood Moon on March 14, 2025, the lunar surface turned red for more than an hour over North and South America. The second Blood Moon- Sept. 7th, 2025, lasted 82 minutes and was visible over Europe, Asia, Africa, & Australia.

The Third Blood Moon in this Series arrived on a 3rd Jewish Purim Holiday, on March 3, 2026, [3×3]. It was visible for nearly an hour from Asia to parts of North America. When we consider the very rare 3 consecutive Purim Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses from 2024-2026 that precedes this “golden age of solar eclipses,” we should not view it as coincidental, as it provides 3 sets of 3 distinct types of Eclipses, opening a Series of Repeating Matching Eclipses that agree over the next 7 years, mirroring the years 480 BC-469 BC, during the Biblical reign of Queen Esther & Mordecai while they foiled a Genocide plot against the Jews in ancient Persia, of the evil Haman during her Reign.

To view more background on this, you can visit a resource at CBN News. #10

Here are Blood Moon Eclipses including 3 consecutive Purim Lunar Eclipses over the last three years;

5 Eclipses in 2024

3/24-25/2024 Purim Total Eclipse
4/8/2024 Total Solar Eclipse
9/17-18/24 Partial Lunar Eclipse
10/2/24 Annular Total Eclipse
10/17/24 Lunar Eclipse

4 Eclipses in 2025

4 Eclipses in 2026

As the 2025 Purim Lunar Eclipse moved in process between Leo and Virgo, it moved exactly where the Head of Virgo was Crowned near the Tail of Leo, as the Moon passed from the constellation Leo, the Lion the coming Lion King-Jesus, to Virgo, the virgin, or bride, joining the Head of the woman Virgo to the body of the Lion-Leo to form the Celestial Sphinx., a key Celestial sign marking Jupiter’s triple crowning of Regulus at Christ’s Birth. [Fig. 3 Below]

Comparing these heavenly signs near the birth of Christ, with the signs of the modern Blood Moon Tetrad leading to 2017, as Jupiter’s annual retro motion entered Virgo in Aug. 26-27th 2016, for a total of 294 days, into 2017, it remained 40 days in Virgo’s mid-section, to foreshadow the birthing of the Messiah’s Kingdom. Jupiter marked its entrance into Virgo with a 2nd Jupiter–Venus union in 2016. This gets our attention to indicate a key event in the King Planet–Jupiter linked to his virgin Bride–with Virgo’s Crowning of Leo’s 9 stars plus 3 added planets of Mercury, Venus and Mars aligned to the Regulus King star in Leo, totaling 12 stars in Virgo’s Crown. This not only alerted us to watch for the Sun Clothing Virgo leading directly to these signs of 9-23-2017, but it also shows the Great Pyramid’s Christ Angle alignment of Venus–Regulus in Leo, in this key sign of the Giza Plateau reflecting the Celestial Sphinx, near Sept. 20, 2017. [Rev. 1:8, 11-17, 20- Jesus as Alpha & Omega], [Rev. 21: 3-7, 22:12-13, 16].

Figure 3. The Celestial Sphinx. The Head of the Woman and the Body of the Lion seen as a Birth Sign of Christ on Sept. 14th, 3 BC, on the eastern horizon from Jerusalem forming the elements of the Great Sphinx, and marking the first Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction in Leo. #12

head of a woman and body of a lion

We find these landmarks at the head and tail of the zodiac, that adds light to Dr. Martin’s observation that: “the woman Virgo is the Constellation of Headship for all 12 signs. Virgo’s head position is found in the last 10 degrees of Leo.”13

Virgo’s head is seen in Fig. 3, just below and adjacent to the star Denebola in the tail of the Lion, unifies the circle of the zodiac. The Sphinx also unifies the Biblical Canon, establishing the canonical order of God’s written revelation, in Genesis to Revelation, in the Bible’s earliest book of Job, [Job 19:23-25]. Even as Christ embodies the Alpha-Omega [Rev. 1:9-20] both in the Celestial Gospel, and Mazzaroth Signs, but in the Scripture’s also from Genesis to Revelation.

Jon Nessle taught us the record in his recent 8/15/23 Session 1b of Chapter 5 in the OT History class, as Persian King Darius I–reached his golden scepter to his beautiful Queen Esther, [Est. 5:1-3] upon entering royal courts uninvited, to save his Jewish populace, from Haman’s plan of Jewish genocide in Persia. #14 With a futuristic view, Cassiopeia can also embody the saved bride of Christ, he delivered. Even as King Darius I saved all Israel with his extended scepter, so Christ saved all Israel and his Church, who embody 2 versions of Christ’s Bride, with the “Woman” of Rev. 12:1-2, 4-6, 13-17. Christ-Cepheus is enthroned over the Northern Pole Star; sets his foot “Al Ruccaba” depicted in a time–lapse photo below, shows how all the stars revolve around the King of Kings. [I Cor. 15:24-28].


Stars orbit polaris

These signs and constellations at the North Pole, or circumpolar stars are reflective of the “Royal Family” since they never set. The ancients called them the imperishables. With the King’s right foot standing over his penned and guarded sheep in Ursa Minor, we can see Jesus the Shepherd protecting his flock of the “little dipper” from his enemies, that will be trodden underfoot.

Figure 3. Cepheus Decan with Cassiopeia and Ursa Minor.#15

43B0547C-C993-458A-9C2E-5BC90774E8AE

Even in a veiled mythology we find in the light of the narrative of a returning Good Shepherd-redeemer shining through to deliver his flocks, whom he laid down his life for.

“Star out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel“; Star=[H3556; kowkab] #16. Figuratively an illustrious Prince who is the star rising from Jacob, holding the scepter as ruler over Israel. We notice a figure of speech utilized in this verse regarding the authority of the scepter held by the Prince. 

This “star” linked with the scepter rising out of Israel, is a celestial reference to the sign of Leo the Lion with specific implications first for it’s brightest luminary, of the Lion.” The King’s scepter is the symbol of his power over the heathens and those who oppose his purposes, as he will rule over them with  a “rod of iron,” or unbending authority, [Ps. 2, Rev. 19:15].

As we consider the import of the Penumbral Lunar Eclipses in 2016, and the 2nd Purim Blood Moon, of March 2025, we uncover relations to the 70 AD Penumbral Lunar Eclipses to seal the Roman’s destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This also seals God’s Judgment on Israel,  seen in the history of the Sieges of Jerusalem, totaling 27 in number; [9×3] including 3-a number of divine completeness related to Judgment=9. This Jerusalem Siege is the 20th instance, in the history of Israel, carried out by forces under Roman Titus in 70 AD, as the Temple was burnt in spite of Titus’ orders against it .#17

The following summary from our Biblical Blood Moon Calendar post, shows the 70 AD Roman Temple Destruction as Jesus Prophesied, [Matt. 24:1-2]. I’ve added the 3 Consecutive Purim Eclipses, from 2024-2026 picking up where a 3/4/71 AD Purim Lunar Eclipse was a final 71 AD Purim Blood Moon, revealed a direct link in Prince Titus‘ 70 AD Jerusalem Temple destruction marked by the 3/30/70 AD Total Solar Eclipse on Nisan 1 as the 2nd entry on the Figure 4 Solar & Lunar Eclipses of 69-71 AD. This not only links Prince Titus as a fore-runner of the end-times AntiChrist, but also ties to a 8/27/70 AD Rev. 12 Sign, with a Jupiter–Venus union in Leo’s hind paw [see Plate 1 below] as an added repeating Matching date reflected in a Partial Lunar Eclipse on 8/27/2026, & 8/27/70 AD below.  

Repeating and Matching Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 69-71 AD

Figure 4. Solar & Lunar Eclipses in 69-71 AD.      2016 Solar & Lunar Eclipses omitting Adar 2:

Partial Lunar       Sukkot            10/18/69

Total Solar            Nisan 1            3/30/70         Total Solar Eclipse 3/9/2016-Nisan 1

Penum Lunar       Passover         4/14/70         Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Passover 3/23/2016/                                             Nisan 14

Rev. 12 sign  [central sign]         8/27/70         with a Jupiter–Venus union!

Annular Solar     Rosh Hash      9/23/70        Annular Solar Eclipse 9/3/2016/Trumpets Feast 

Penum Lunar       Sukkot            10/08/70     Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 9/16                                             Sukkot             9-16 to 9/23/16

Partial Lunar       Purim               3/4/71

Total Lunar          Purim               3/24-25/24  Total Lunar Eclipse

Total Lunar          Purim               3/14-15/25  Total Lunar Eclipse

Total Lunar          Purim               3/3/2026  Total Lunar Eclipse


A Note of interest on the Comparison Chart below refers to the Nisan 1–Total Solar Eclipse on 3/30/70 above, mirrored in the upcoming Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in the 3/30/2033 Eclipse Season during Esther’s reign in 3/31/471BC.

Please refer to the Comparison Chart for Repeating Eclipses from modern AD dates of 2024-2033 to BC dates of Ancient Israel/Persia under King Darius I-Queen Esther, from 480-469 BC.#18 

Comparison Chart for Repeating Eclipse Tetrads
Eclipse Date AD Sun/Moon Eclipse Date BC
3/30/2033 AD Lunar 3/31/471 BC
4/14/2033 AD Solar 4/14/471 BC
9/23/2033 AD Lunar 9/23/471 BC
10/8/2033 AD Solar 10/8/471 BC

The 69-71 AD Blood Moon Tetrad marking the Roman’s destroying the Temple 400 years after the Repeating Matching Eclipses of Esther & Mordecai from 469-480 BC, is reflected also in the Solar & Lunar eclipses of 2015-16, that led to a 2017 rewind of the Great Wonder of Rev. 12:1-2. Amazingly, another report of this Rev. 12 Celestial Wonder took place on August 27th, in 70 AD, [Plate 1.] below, between 4/14/70 Passover Lunar Eclipse, and 9/23/70 AD Rosh Hashanah Solar Eclipse reflected in the 2033 Comparison Chart above! The idea that a Rev. 12 sign appears in the 69-71 AD Eclipse Tetrad with a 3/4/71 Purim Partial Lunar Eclipse sets an early precedent linking the Rev. 12 sign with a Jupiter–Venus Union, in context of Purim Blood Moon Lunar eclipses.

Plate 1. The Rev. 12 sign on August 27th, 70 AD: with a Jupiter–Venus union in Leo’s rear paw! #19

The woman’s 1st level Crown of 12 stars, with Jupiter and Venus in such close union, they appear to merge into one star in a singular light, foreshadowing a Jupiter–Venus union near Christ’s birth in 2 BC, except this time they are seen in Leo’s lower rear paw, establishing Virgo’s 1st level crown, [Plate. 2] below showing the first level of Virgo’s Crown focusing on 12 stationary stars over Virgo’s head, around Leo’s tail with the star Denebola, and a 70 AD Jupiter–Venus union in Leo’s hind paw.

Plate 2. The first level of Virgo’s stellar Triple Crown.#20

Image result for signs at virgos feet sept-october 2017

These 12 immobile stars are constant, unlike the stars of the 2nd level Crowning of Virgo seen in the nine constant stars of Leo along with key planetary formations at prophetic times in celestial history. Therefore, a first level Crown of 12 stars provides a sustained witness to the celestial Crowning of the Woman-Virgo, all year around, not just on special days to open the Hebrew calendar in Tishri, [Christ’s Birth] with the Hebrew Civil Year when the Sun clothes Virgo. These 12 stars above Virgo’s head with the star Zavijava encircles Leo’s tail and lower hind leg [see Plate 1] with 4 stars in Virgo and 8 Leonine stars.

As the Sun clothes Virgo with the Moon near her feet, the King Planet Jupiter & Venus align with Mercury-Gabriel on the King Star Regulus in Leo, forming a 2nd level crowning of Virgo, with 3 extra planets. The focus of this version of the Rev. 12;1-2 Sign, is it occurs central in the Eclipse Tetrad–sealing the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple. This was also the last time Israel ruled Jerusalem till the 6-day war of 1967, marked by a 1967-68 Blood Moon Tetrad.

This 1st level Virgo crowning also foreshadowed a Celestial Sphinx prophecy of Christ’s birth-3 days before the first of 3 Jupiter–Regulus unions marking the birth of Christ 9/11 in 3-2 BC, this triple crowning of Regulus mirrored the Triple Crowning of Virgo.

As remarkable as the comparison of Solar and Lunar eclipse signs between 70 AD and 2016 is, it’s more striking when viewed with Purim Lunar Eclipses! As seen above-in the Eclipse Comparison Chart; the Purim Blood Moon in 71 AD was the last Purim Lunar Eclipse we see till 1959, until the Total Purim Lunar Eclipse in 2016. We can see intriguing parallels here as these Solar & Lunar eclipses marked a destruction of  Jerusalem’s Temple in 70 AD, as today we await a 3rd Temple in Jerusalem–as a next logical step to fulfil Bible Prophecy, with Israel’s reclamation of Jerusalem, in the 1967-68′ Blood Moon Tetrad, in it’s 6-day War with Egypt. The key aspects of Luni–Solar Eclipses, not only in 2016-17 but also again in 2024-2026 in alignment with the only set of 3 Purim Blood Moon Eclipses in a row on Hebrew Feasts that do not cluster as Blood Moon Tetrads over the last 2000 years!

Are there other links between Esther-the Triad of Purim Eclipses and the Rev. 12 Sign? As we view elements of the 2nd Book of Esther we find strong viable links to the record of Rev. 12.

Revelation 12 records the Crowning of Virgo, that we have referenced in detail, even as Israel’s Queen/protector–Esther was Crowned by King Xerxes I in Est. 2:18 below, even inaugurating her own Purim Feast to her!

15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour [2580–chen; favor, grace, charm, 69x in OT, 47x– “find favor in the eyes of” often in relations of inferior-superior, in Prov. aesthetic charm or beauty from 2603; chanan-gracious inclination, favorable, kind, mercy, lovely, espec. to needy. 2604 Aram. equiv. Dan. 4:24, 6:12, implore favor.] #21 in sight of all looking upon her. 16 So Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in 7th year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all women, and she obtained grace [2580–chen]; and favor [2617-checed; the attitude of God’s Love, 1 Jn. 4:8, 16] that contains mercy in His Eternal Covenant relations with Israel, [Ps. 136]. The lovingkindness & benevolent beauty of God. From [2616–chacad; kind & merciful, 3x in OT, here, 2 Sam. 22:18-26, 40, Ps. 18:26.]#22

This set Esther far above the other concubines of King Ahasuerus!] in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her Queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.

 The figure Polysyndetyn; many “ands” emphasized the key elements of vs. 15 & 17, showing what set Esther apart from other women. Her amazing heart for God and her loving compassion for His people made all the difference for her. The Lion King’s Love for his Queen Esther is exemplary to Christ’s love for his Bride – the Church, was beyond compare [Eph. 5:21-33]. Thus she was worthy of Grace and Kingly Favor, resulting in the King crowning her whose wondrous grace and favor were as the Sun clothing her, and the Moon under her feet. So her head was crowned with 12 stars as she embodied the unity of God’s People.

 An evident and recurring dual theme in Rev. 12 is not only the birth of the King of Kings, but also the birth of his kingdom of everlasting righteousness. Thus we find clear reference to this kingdom, in the authority of he who rules with a rod of iron, symbolized in the king’s scepter–Jupiter. In a previous post [The Blood Moon Tetrad and the Rev. 12 Heavenly Signs [Part II.] we noted how the birth of Jupiter from Virgo’s womb, links to Christ’s kingdom at God’s Right Hand in Rev. 12:5. Once Christ was born and completed his earthly ministry he was caught up in his Ascension to God and his throne in the period leading to the Rev. 12 sign on Sept. 23rd, 2017. This date saw Great Pyramid signs of the Christ angle alignments with a Venus–Regulus union   in Leo. This fits the context and connotations of the Hebrew word for “rule” [7287-radah; subdue, reign, prevail, dominion, Joel 4:13, Gen. 1:28, Num. 24:19,      1 Kg. 5:4] noted in Psalm 110:1-6.#23 As this emphasis was evident in the sky in 3-2 BC, at the birth of Christ, we also find the triple union of Jupiter–Venus in 2015, in Leo, two years ahead of the 2017 signs, as a Celestial Prelude to the Return of Christ, and a Celestial Encore, seen in the signs of 5 BC leading to 3 BC. A key element of these Jupiter–Venus unions was their alignment with Regulus on the ecliptic in Leo, carried not only the original import of Regulus‘ triple coronation, by Jupiter the king planet, but the bright and Morning Star–Venus‘ adding its beauty to this sign, [Rev. 2:27-28].

June 30th- July 1, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus]
July 31st, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus]
October 25-26th, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus]
October 28th, 2015 [Jupiter–Venus, Mars unite in a 1 degree triangular massing]

These planetary unions were followed with added Jupiter–Venus unions that took place in Virgo in 2016-17. This Triple Conjunction of Jupiter–Venus, the 2 brightest stars in the heavens after the Sun and Moon, was notable especially with the addition of Mercury, [Rev. 5:5]. The dates above show Jupiter–Venus unions in Leo during the Hebrew Sabbatical/Jubilee year of 2015:

BLOOD MOON TETRAD 2014-2015 Summary

Sept. 13th 2015 [Partial Solar Eclipse-Rosh Hashanah]
Sept. 17th 2015 [Sun clothing Virgo with the Moon at her feet] Rev. 12
Sept. 17th 2015 [Mercury–Spica in Virgo]
Sept. 23rd, 2015 [Hebrew Jubilee Year opens on the Day of Atonement]
Sept. 28th 2015 [Final Super Blood Moon, Feast of Trumpets]
October 8th, 2015 [Venus–Regulus in Leo]

Super Blood Moon over Jerusalem

On Sept. 17th the Sun appeared in Virgo clothing the stellar woman of Israel, with the Moon at her feet, as found in [Rev. 12]. For added emphasis the planet Mercury-Gabriel is in union also on the 17th, with Spica–Al Zimach. This star tells a unique story of the Messiah Jesus Christ’s 4-fold ministry as King in Matthew, Son of Man in Luke, Servant in Mark and Son of God, in John, as the Four Gospels relate this Ministry of Christ.

Viewing the ministry of Christ embodied in 7 feasts of Israel as, we combine the narrative of Jesus‘ birth signs from [Rev. 12], that also relate the story of his victorious Second Coming seen in the dual significance of [Rev. 12], we find emphasis placed on this theme by the Hand of the Almighty, we can’t neglect. As we’re in 1948’s generation of a reformed nation of Israel (fig tree) to witness the time of the Lord’s return we must heed Christ’s warning (Luke 21: 32). As Jesus said; “This generation shall not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matt. 24:32-34). The miracle signs God has shown to help Israel to victory vs. Arab-Muslim enemies in 1967, with far less troops and equipment, recall Old Testament battles of God delivering His people.

The key celestial signs with our solar system planets of Christ’s Birth in 3-2 BC were 3 Jupiter–Venus unions, that forecast 3 Jupiter–Venus Conjunctions in 2015, with added Heavenly signs of Jupiter–Venus at his birth. On Aug. 27-28th of 3 BC, a Planetary massing of Jupiter–Venus & Mars held alignment of
3 planets, with king star Regulus in Leo, forming a 12 star Crown overhead of Virgo. This 2015 Rev. 12 sign planetary alignment in Leo; with Sun clothing Virgo and Moon at her feet] was repeated on Sept. 23rd, of 2017!

The Great Pyramid’s witness in Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy embodies [2 Peter 1:19-21], in Venus‘ Morning  Star alignment with Regulus at dawn on Rosh Hashanah, 9–23–2017, via the Christ angle measures in the Pyramid’s Ascending and Descending passages. If these heavenly signs point to a key future sunrise Dawning of The Lord’s Day to Return FOR his Saints, fore-shadowed in the Sept. 2017 signs, we will hold our Hope & faith in Christ–opening to Everlasting Righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

With an interval of 1260 days, between the 9-28-15 Passover Blood Moon, and the Rev. 12 sign falling 9/20 to 9/23/2017, at Feast of Trumpets; on 9/21, could it foreshadow this period in the near future? Between the Great Pyramid sign of a Christ Angle alignment in Leo, and a Rev. 12 sign and Wonder, the Pyramid depicts other alignments in Orion’s 3 Belt-stars, with the 3 Giza Pyramids in and the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient world, seen in Plate 3 below. 

Plate 3. The Great Pyramid’s Ascending Passage alignment with the Venus–Regulus union in Leo, 9-20-2017 on Rosh Hashanah, as the Coming Prince in Orion, is found at the Meridian alignment of Al-Nitak at dawn. #24 

As the Great Pyramid Sunset alignments opened to New Years Day on Rosh Hashanah in Sept. 2017, added Sunrise alignments with the Great Pyramid’s Ascending Passage union of Venus–Regulus in Leo occurred. This key 9/20/17 lineup & union was built-into the Ascending Passage Christ angle when the Great Khufu Pyramid was constructed, not to be revealed for thousands of years, on Rosh  Hashanah, with added alignments of the first Star in Orion’s Belt; Al-Nitak, via the Great Pyramid’s missing Apex, forecasting Christ’s everlasting victorious Return, part of the Great Mystery of the Gathering Together, [vertical Green line].

We can envision the Great Pyramid’s multiple horizon alignments with the rising and setting Sun on this pivotal day in history, with narratives of truth they each carry. As the Apex alignment of the Great Pyramid intersects the Belt star Al-Nitak, the next 2 Giza Pyramid’s also link to belt stars in Kaphre/ Al-Nilam, & Menkaure/ Mintaka, in Plate 3, with the next two stars of Orion’s Belt. Not only is Venus aligned with Regulus, but Mars & Mercury were also aligned with Venus and Regulus in Leo, along with the trio of Giza Pyramids. The key aspect of the Rev. 12 sign of 3 planets in Virgo’s Crown was the Sept. 23rd, 2017 alignment with Orion’s three Belt Stars–a prophecy of Orion-the Coming Prince’s Return. As the Celestial Prelude prophesied of Christ’s birth in his first Advent, so these key Great Pyramid Celestial Signs prophesy of our Lord’s Second Coming also.

In Plate 3, the Great Pyramid’s Apex/Chief-cornerstone, is aligned in Orion “the Coming Prince,” specified in “the wounded one,” Orion’s key Belt star: Al-Nitak, [Gen. 3:15]. The Great Pyramid alignment on Orion’s Al Nitak, oversaw the birth of Christ, at Bethlehem @51.51°, New Year’s–Rosh Hashanah, on his birthday – 9/11/3 BC, so we find the Great Pyramid’s Apex/Chief Corner-stone aligned to the star Al Nitak at zenith/meridian, also on Rosh Hashanah again in 2017, linking these two key dates together for all time. [Isa. 28:16, Eph. 2:19-22]

The Year of Jubilee began on September 23, 2015, the Day of Atonement, two years to the day ahead of the 9-23-2017, Feast of Trumpets with the signs of the Venus–Regulus union & Great Pyramid alignments set to return in 2028, we must continue to serve the Lord, at the ready to walk through those “golden doors” that God will open for us.

Venus is well known for its 8-year cycle, whereby it returns to virtually the same spot in the starry heavens every 8 years. This is because Venus circles the Sun 13 times for each time Earth circles the Sun 8 times. This 8-year cycle means that Venus will again meet with Regulus for super-close unions in two years in early October 2028, 2036 and 2044. Will there be a repeat of a Great Pyramid alignment with Venus–Regulus at that time? We need to wait & see- but, we can predict a Venus–Regulus union with certainty in 2028 just as we saw in the last Venus–Regulus union on Oct. 2-3, 2020. #25

On the mornings of October 2 and 3, 2020, Venus (brighter) and the bright star Regulus appeared near one another in the east before sunup. Below is a the view from North America, as Venus is near .5 a degree above Regulus on Oct. 2 and near 0.5 degrees under Regulus on Oct. 3rd. Their union came on Oct. 3rd @ 00:00 UTC, when Venus passed only 0.1 degree south of Regulus.

Chart: Nearly vertical ecliptic line with three dots close together on it.

This also mirrors the Oct. 3rd, 2015-Fig. 3 Dawn planetary alignment in Leo of Venus–Regulus, Mars and Jupiter in Leo.

September 28, 2020 in Astronomy Essentials


Read more: The 8-year cycle and 5 ‘petals’ of Venus

The conjunction of Venus and Regulus on October 1, 2044, will be unique because Venus will actually occult (pass directly in front of) Regulus on that date. According to SKYCAL the next three Venus–Regulus unions in take place in October 2028, 2036 and 2044. Here are their findings:

October 2, 2028, at 06:44 UTC: Venus passes 0.1 degrees south of Regulus
October 1, 2036, at 20:00 UTC: Venus passes 0.1 degrees south of Regulus
October 1, 2044, at 09:21 UTC: Venus passes 0 degrees of Regulus (occultation)

Planetary occultations of 1st-magnitude stars are extremely rare. The last time it happened was when Venus occulted Regulus on July 7, 1959, and the next time will be when Venus occults Regulus on October 1, 2044.

The detailed prophecies contained in God’s Word are part of what makes the Bible unique among religious texts. Our God can “make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isaiah 46:10), and He has revealed significant events in the future, counting out the very days of those time periods. The events of the Purim Blood Moon Triad of 2024-2026 tied to today’s War in Iran vs. Israel and the US, reflects how Iran’s modern terror state is being punished as ancient Haman-the seed of Amalek was by Israel. This is very obvious in Repeating-Matching Blood Moon Lunar & Solar Eclipse Tetrads that we have shown in this and numerous recent studies published on this blog. We’ve seen how a decade of Matching-Repeating Eclipses from 480-469BC match Eclipses in 2024-2034 AD, reflect God’s Judgment on Haman /Amalek compared to present day Modern Iran. 

 This not only reflects The Righteousness of our Just Heavenly Father and His Returning Son Jesus Christ, but also the End-times prophecies being fulfilled before our eyes.  

Romans 8:22-23, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” (NIV)

Let us remain vigilant with our heads to the sky, as the days grow shorter…

God Bless!

Rene’

 

  Footnotes

Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy of Blood Moon Tetrads and Ancient Cultures

 

Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy of Blood Moon Tetrads and Ancient Cultures.

Welcome to the July 2024 Blog post! This is a special month as it marks the 10th Anniversary of this Blog that I initiated back in 2014! With over 150 blog posts on various topics related to Biblical Astronomy in the last 10 years, we have been blessed to develop a loyal following of readers and participants from around the globe. I love and am very passionate about this unique Christian Ministry work, and remain humbled and Thankful to my Heavenly Father for His Infinite Love, Grace and inspiration to Bless God’s People! The impetus for this blog grew out of the original website [Try-god.com] that we put together in 2002-3, based on the teachings and seminars related to the Birth of Christ, and The Celestial Prelude. I will always be grateful to my dear friend & brother in Christ, Paul Viarengo, for his love and generosity in helping me to establish and support this website, which remains a key asset and research archive. In the last few years I’m most thankful and grateful to and for Rev. Jon Nessle, his teachings, support and his example are invaluable contributions to this field of Bible research, along with his scientific background and prowess. I’m honored to accept his invitation to serve and teach with him, Ren Manetti and Roberto & Diane Martinez in The Next Reformation Church. Our outreach activities include a weekly Tune-in-Tuesday forum, and a recent roadshow as we served and taught together on the Celestial Gospel Seminar this past April for the Northeastern CFF Believers in New Jersey! Keep your eyes open for more efforts like this down the road…

To honor our 10th anniversary, and for the sake of context it is helpful to revisit some of the Celestial events that opened this blog in 2014. A primary topic of conversation in that period was the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015. This of course raised interest in the previous Blood Moon Tetrads during the inception of the State of Israel in 1949-50, and the 6-day war of 1967 when Israel reclaimed control of Jerusalem for the 1st time in near 2000 years. A respected commentator and Blood Moon teacher; Mark Biltz  noted that after the 1st Blood Moon of 2014 there was an initial invasion of Ukraine by Russia, ISIS Advances, a 2-month war between Israel and Gaza, an Ebola Plague, an overthrow of Yemen, economic meltdowns and middle East upheaval. Many of these types of events were not only repeated in 2021-2022, but remain in the news headlines today!

The Season of Repentance is the call to repent before the Day of the Lord. Jewish tradition says those who are written in the Book of Life (the saved) will be resurrected on the Feast of Trumpets. The undecided and evil ones will then have time to repent during the time of judgment that ends at the Day of Atone-ment. The period of time between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atone-ment is representative of the seven years of the Tribulation. It is fitting then that the Great American eclipse of such significance marks the the Season of Repentance. It was another sign pointing towards the significance of 2017 as it relates to the return of Christ, in comparison with the Alpha/Omega or Aleph-Tav; as the first and last letters of the Hebrew Alphabet embody the Great American Eclipses crossing America, from 2017-2024.

Joel 2:25-32 and Acts 2:16-27 prophecies of solar and lunar eclipses are note-worthy since solar eclipses are considered a sign for the Gentile nations of the world, while lunar eclipses are more significant for Israel. This aligns with God’s classification of people on earth into 3 groups; Jews, Gentiles & the Church of God.

There was another total solar eclipse that occurred on March 20, 2015. At the center point between the Blood Moon lunar eclipses of the 2014-15 Tetrad, it occurs before the religious new year begins on Nisan 1 (March 21). This eclipse was visible in the North Atlantic occurring in the constellation Pisces. Pisces speaks of the Redeemer’s People or us. Here there is a solar eclipse that took place 888 days before the Season of Repentance 2017. 888 is the number of our Redeemer’s name in Greek–Jesus.

The Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-15 opened with a Passover Lunar Eclipse on 4/15/2014. Prior to the 4/4/2015 Passover Blood Moon, a unique Total Solar Eclipse occurred on March 20th, at the Spring Equinox, marking the start of the Hebrew month of Nisan, to open the ecclesiastical year, at the midpoint of their Shemitah year in 2015. Any Total solar eclipse reaching the rarefied air of the North Pole is unequalled, with the path of this Solar Eclipse ending at the Pole, putting it within Eclipse totality for near 2 minutes. A total solar eclipse at the North Pole on the Spring Equinox takes place only about once every 100 centuries, but it never happened on Nisan 1 in Hebrew Timekeeping, especially when seen with a Super-moon, putting this Total Solar eclipse in a class by itself. A chart of Blood Moon Tetrads over the last 2000+ years is available in our blog post @ Biblical Blood Moon Calendar.

This March 20th  eclipse in 2015 was indeed a special one. While comparing historical eclipse data on the Spring Equinox; we found a solar eclipse (not at the North Pole) on March 20, 71 AD, also on Nisan 1 on the Hebrew Calendar.#1 Only months before the eclipses in 71 AD, Jerusalem’s Temple was attacked and destroyed. This Temple destruction occurred on the infamous 9th of Av in 70′ AD. In spite of prince Titus’ strict orders to his Roman Legions not to harm the Temple, it was “accidentally” set on fire and consumed. On August 5th, AD. 70, bloody scars on smoking ruins mark dire scenes of daily offerings ceased in Israel on 7/13/70′ AD, for lack of able-bodied priests to Sacrifice. This was recorded–at a noted time in history when Jerusalem’s Temple was destroyed by fire.

The Total Solar Eclipse on March 20th, 2015, was not only unique because it took place at the North Pole, but also because it fell right in the middle of this Blood Moon Tetrad. Much has been written about the position and timing of this total solar eclipse, but taking place in the center of this Tetrad is a key, when we view how the 2016 solar and lunar eclipses link the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetrad to the Rev. 12 sign of Sept 23, 2017. The year of 2016 also saw a mirroring of solar and lunar eclipses in 70 AD. Not only are the solar and lunar eclipses mirrored exactly as seen in Table 1 below in 70/2016, but a Rev. 12 sign is also reflected in the center of the 70′ solar and lunar eclipses, on 8/27/70, three weeks after the destruction and burning of Jerusalem’s Temple by Titus on the 9th of Av.

The final Super Blood Moon of the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetrad occurred after the Hebrew 50-year Jubilee on the Day of Atonement, Sept. 23rd, 2015, just 2 years prior to the Rev. 12 sign on 9/23/2017. This is notable as the 9/28/15 Super Blood Moon was the 1st Blood Moon of the 2014-2015 Tetrad that was visible in Jerusalem, as the city of God was liberated by Israel for the first time in near 2000 years in the preceding Jubilee year of 1967, marked too by the previous Blood Moon Tetrad of 1967-68. As we consider this feature of visibility over Jerusalem, we find it upheld with each of the lunar triples bracketing the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, as a 2nd Blood Moon of both lunar triples was also visible over Jerusalem. This directly links the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad and the eclipses of 2016 to the 70′ AD razing of the Jerusalem Temple.

Figure 1. Lunar Triples in 2010-11 and 2018-19 bracketing the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad. #2

Jesus On My Mind - Blood Moon Tetrads and Triples and Solar Eclipses

As the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad of the end days was centered between the saddest days on Israel’s Calendar, the days of Av marked by Lunar Triples in 2010-11 and 2018-19, as seen above they recall the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple on two key occasions in their history, one we have highlighted below, with the 69-71 AD solar and lunar eclipses, marking the Roman Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. It is notable that the triple union of Jupiter-Regulus in Leo, marking Christ’s birth in 3-2 BC, is set here, as the next Jupiter-Regulus union didn’t recur till 10-15-69 AD, #3 opening to the Partial Lunar Eclipse on Sukkot on 10/18/69′, seen in Table 1 below.

The year 2015 has another date of interest. Yom Kippur 2015 proves to be 2,520 exact weeks from June 7, 1967 when Israel won the Temple Mount. This is also expressed as 49/360-day years. However, in counting these days, Yom Kippur 2015 is an exact 700 days before Elul 1, 2017 and the Season of Repentance. On an added note, there is another total eclipse on March 9, 2016 …[This March 9th date aligns with the Roman’s Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, with very similar celestial signs in the sky.

2000 years of Blood Moon Tetrad history marked by Peter’s Sermon to open the Age of Grace, [Acts 2:20] have seen Jesus’ foretelling Israel’s Bible and Celestial Prophecy Plan of a Destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple, sealed in solar and lunar eclipses, fulfilled in 70 AD. We saw the Jews dispersed the world over, returning to Israel’s Reformed State, in 1948-50 marked by a Blood Moon Tetrad. In 1967-68 another Blood Moon Tetrad stamped the 6-day war with Egypt, and Jerusalem’s first reclaiming under Israeli control, since 70 AD, all leading to a next prophecy to rebuild a Third Jerusalem Temple. A chart of the Blood Moon Tetrads over the last 2000 years is found in our blog @ Biblical Blood Moon Calendar. The summary below from this link, shows Jesus’ Prophecy of Rome’s 70 AD Destruction of the Temple, mirroring the 2016 Solar and Lunar Eclipses.

Table 1.

Solar & Lunar Eclipses from 69-71 AD.         2016 Solar & Lunar Eclipses omitting Adar 2:

Jupiter-Regulus triple union    10/15/69       #1 in Leo the Lion

Partial Lunar      Sukkot             10/18/69

Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction    12/30/69     #2

Total Solar           Nisan 1              3/30/70     Total Solar Eclipse 3/9/2016 

Penum lunar       Passover          4/14/70      Penumbral Lunar Eclipse-3/23/2016/Nisan 14

Jupiter-Regulus Conjunction     6/7/70       #3

Temple destroyed by Titus        8/5/70        9th of Av, 70 AD in Age of Grace opened by Peter citing Joel 2 @ Pentecost 28′ AD.

Rev. 12 Sign of the Woman       8/27/70      in Virgo

Annular Solar     Rosh Hash    9/23/70      Annular Solar Eclipse 9/3/2016/Trumpets Feast 

Penum lunar        Sukkot         10/08/70    Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Sukkot/9-16 to 9/23/16

Partial Lunar       Purim             3/4/71      Partial Lunar Eclipse

Total Solar            Nisan 1         3/20/71     Total Solar Eclipse

These dates may look familiar to those following this Biblical Astronomy Blog [blog.try-god.org], as the first 2 Total Solar Eclipses of 2016 form the continuation of Solar and Lunar signs on Hebrew Feast and Holy days after the Blood Moons of 2014-15. Due to a lack of consensus on the ripeness of Aviv Barley in Israel, the alignment of these solar eclipses with Hebrew Feast and Holy days went mostly unnoticed in 2016. But they are key as they represent a direct link to the Aug. 21st, 2017 Pan-Am Total Solar eclipse. A key detail about the 2nd Blood Moon of each lunar triple bracketing the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad was its visible over Jerusalem. This provides a direct link with Blood Moon Tetrad to the razing of the Jerusalem Temple in Hebrew Sabbath years of 586-587 BC and 69-70 AD. King Nebuchadnezzar burnt the Temple in 587-586 BC [2 Chron. 36:17-20], and it was burnt again 69-70 AD, by Titus and his Roman legions. In both cases Jerusalem lay desolate for the next 50 years on the Jubilee Calendar. #4

The solar and lunar eclipses marking the 69-70 AD destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple, 70 AD was the last year Jerusalem was under control of Israel until the Blood Moon Tetrad of 1967-68. The Luni–Solar Eclipses of 2016 mirror the 69-70 AD solar and lunar eclipses exactly on holy days & Hebrew feasts. Its also noteworthy that the triple union of Jupiter-Regulus marking the birth of Christ in 3BC, is linked to the Temple destruction in Jerusalem foretold by Christ [Matt. 24:1-2], since the next Jupiter-Regulus conjunction did not recur until Oct. 15th, 69 AD. #5

By putting these birth signs of Christ together with the physical Temple being destroyed, it recalls Jesus’ words in [Jn. 2:19-20] where Jesus links the Temple’s destruction, wherein he was standing when he said “destroy this temple,” with the “temple of his body.” Christ embodied the Temple in two aspects; first as the Bride of Israel when he spoke this prophecy, then a New Covenant Gentile Church in Christ, communing with the Heavenly Father in spirit after the Day of Pentecost in the Age of Grace, [Eph. 2:11-22]. Since Jesus superseded the physical Temple in his Spiritual body–the Church, the Jerusalem Temple on the Mount will not be seen again until its daily sacrifices are restored prior to Jesus’ 2nd Coming. The 69-70 AD solar and lunar eclipses marked Rome’s destruction of the Temple, by Titus mirrored in soli-lunar eclipses of 2016, that lead to the 2017 rewind of the Great Wonder of Rev. 12:1-2. Amazingly, another version of this Rev. 12 celestial wonder occurred on August 27th, in 70 AD, between the 4/14/70 Passover Lunar Eclipse, and the 9/23/70 Rosh Hashanah Solar Eclipse!

Figure 2. The Rev. 12 sign on August 27th, 70 AD: With a Jupiter-Venus union, in the hind paw of Leo the Lion. #6

The woman-Virgo has a crown of 12 stars, with Jupiter and Venus in so close a union, they appear to merge into one star as in 2 BC, but this time in the lower rear paw of Leo. The Sun clothes Virgo and the Moon at her feet. The planets Jupiter and Venus are also aligned with Mercury-Gabriel in Leo’s other hind paw, and the King Star-Regulus in Leo. What is unique with this version of the Rev. 12 Sign is that it occurs in the midst of solar and lunar eclipses falling on Hebrew Feast days as they also marked the 70 AD Temple’s destruction in Jerusalem.

These 2016 Lunar Eclipses followed the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 that totaled 6 Lunar Eclipses in 3 consecutive years on Hebrew Feast days, adding weight to the Four Blood Moons! As we consider the import of these Penumbral Lunar Eclipses in 2016, we should point out the similarity to the Penumbral Lunar Eclipses in 70 AD marking the Romans’ destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The following chart from our Biblical Blood Moon Calendar blog shows the 70 AD Roman Temple Destruction as Jesus Prophesied, [Matt. 24:1-2].

It is notable that if the ripe Barley determination was made before the Total Solar Eclipse on March 9th, 2016 it will also have aligned on NISAN 1, even as the linked sign on 3/30/70 AD! This comparison of Solar and Lunar signs of 70 AD and 2016 is truly remarkable! Also, as we mentioned in the Purim Blood Moon post, 71 AD was the last Lunar Eclipse on Purim found in the intervening period until 3/22/2016. The noted parallel here is that these Solar and Lunar signs marked the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, while today we are looking for the return of a Third Temple in Jerusalem as the next step to fulfill Biblical Prophecy, to establish Israel’s reclamation of Jerusalem as seen in the 1967-68′ Blood Moon Tetrad, in the 6-day War with Egypt. Thus we see note the history of these Solar and Penumbral Lunar Eclipses in 2016 as they align in the only other Sun and Moon signs on Hebrew Feast Days that did not cluster as Blood Moon Tetrads over the last 2000 years!

As we consider the Archaeo-Astronomy of ancient world cultures in light of their various associated forms of astrology, we will view how these systems have survived into the modern world. With this in mind, what does a regular deck of playing cards have in common with the El Castillo Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico?

Figure 3. El Castillo Pyramid at Chichen Itza. #7

mayan pyramid

The Maya were ruthless devotee’s of human sacrifice, whose culture was ruled by its Astrology, controlling every aspect of their timekeeping, which organized their lives. As the Mayan priests prepared the human sacrifice, they astrology them to subdue any resistance to their jupiter and saturn of precious stone, nearly hard as mayan pyramid, to cut out the victim’s human sacrifice. This secondary comparison to playing cards however belies a more prominent one upon closer inspection. As we find compelling evidence revealing a surprising link to the roots of astrology not only in the origin of Mayan timekeeping practices, but many ancient calendars in general.

The structure of a deck of playing cards is based on 4 suits, reflected above, of 13 cards each, that when the numbers 1-13 are added, equal 91. The same pattern is seen in the El Castillo Pyramid, with 4 flights of 91 stairs, leading up to the altar at the pinnacle of the Pyramid. These 4 suits of 13 cards when multiplied equal 52, corresponding to the number of weeks in a year of our Gregorian Calendar, whose reflection is seen in the Maya Tzolkin Calendar of 52 years. We find further calendar links in the total of 91 pyramid steps, equaling the number of days per season, times 4 flights totaling 364, corresponding to the number of days in the year–365, when the Joker Card is added. As the altar caps off the Pyramid’s pinnacle, the four flights of stairs, make a total of 365. The 52-year Maya Tzolkin calendar consisted of four 13-year periods, each symbolized by  one of five spirit-heads, four of which correlated to the Cardinal Directions, while the 5th linked to the center or apex of the circle in the Calendar Round, representing the Earth. This picture of the El Castillo Pyramid agrees with the figure of the Great Pyramid on the Giza plateau, which was designed as a 1 to 43,200 geometric scale model, of planet Earth. Thus, we get the idea that the pyramid represented not only our planet, but also its seasons and timekeeping practices of these pyramid-building cultures that produced them. The calendars that emerged from these cultures also looked to unify the solar and lunar cycles into a comprehensive system of temporal and spatial order. The face cards of the deck represent the day-gods of the Maya Calendar, designed to rule over the temporal and spiritual order of Mayan culture, typified in the structure of their pyramids and calendars. The deck of playing cards was probably structured as a memory system for this classic luni-solar calendar.

Figure 4. Ouroboros Serpent #8

An ouroboros or uroboros serpent snake consuming its own tail circle in a vintage woodcut style

We can trace also the origin of the number 666 from Astrology. The Zodiac is a narrow band about 18 degrees in width making a complete circuit of the sky around the earth, symbolized in pagan art by a serpent whose body formed a circle. The serpent named Ouroboros swallowed his own tail in his mouth as a symbol of self destruction. Astrology taught that the fate of mankind was always decided by the position of the stars. Now the fatalistic astrology of the chief gods of the Zodiac were the 7 fate-controlling planets who wound their way through the 36 rooms of the Zodiac. As the 7 planets travel through the narrow band of the zodiac at varying speeds —symbolized as a seven-headed serpent (Rev. 12:3), they dictated the fate of entire cultures and nations. The Zodiac band was divided into 12 houses, one for each month of the year, and each house was divided into three rooms, with 36 rooms/ decans in all, one for each 10 degrees of the Zodiac circle. This counterfeit heavenly order is the astrological basis of our present method of time-keeping. For example, the clockface– derived from the 12 houses of the Zodiac, as the original Heavenly Clock, whereby today we measure time, even as our ruler has 12 inches to a foot, determining our spatial dimensions.

Figure 5. Roulette Wheel #9

Tuhaf düğüm İsa european roulette wheel Tablet Sulama İkna edici

The original Roulette wheels have a 360-degree circle with 36 divisions of 10 degrees each, with a blank or zero division to represent the 5 days beyond the 360 days in a year. There are 36 numbered cards in a 52 card deck. One card each represents the 52 weeks with 12 face cards, 4 Kings, 4 Queens, and 4 Jacks, and 4 suits that represent the four seasons. Why do fortune-tellers use a deck of cards to predict the future? Because the deck of cards derives from Astrology.  Our present townships are composed of 36 square miles because, as several writers point out, the ancients divided the earth according to the divisions in the sky. Just as our 12-inch ruler was once a symbol of the 12-house Zodiac, so our 36-inch yardstick based upon the 36 rooms into which the heavenly houses are divided. Also, the remainder of the sky outside the Zodiac band was also divided into 36 constellations, 15 on the south side and 21 on the north side. A god of each constellation was set up to rule over one of the 36 rooms of the Zodiac. Every star in the sky was viewed as a god in the abode of departed spirits included in a constellation, and over whom a god was set up who ruled over a Zodiac room. Each Zodiac house-god ruled over a month of the year, and the 7 planetary house gods regulated, the celestial order and the affairs of mankind via this Astrology, by their relative positions in the various rooms of the Zodiac. The Sun-god ruled over them all (the All-Seeing Eye) who was envisioned as the central fire, from which each had sprung. Pagans believed that all other gods were but emanations of the Sun-god. In their numerology 1, 6, 12, 36, 111, and 666 were the most sacred numbers in Astrology. Like the Roulette Wheel, the charts divided into 36 numbered sections, or [magic squares]. There were six columns in all directions with the numbers 1 to 36 placed inside the entire chart. Any direction you add the columns, they total 111. There are six squares in each column and 6 x 111 = 666. If you add all digits from 1 to 36 they will total 666. So, the number 36 was a sacred number that identified with the 36 room-gods of the Zodiac, and the number 666 was a summary number of the Sun-god, because it was his sacred number as the ruler of the Zodiac. Thus it was not a coincidence that the earth’s axis is tilted 23.4 degrees from vertical which is 66.6 degrees from hortizontal. [Obliquity cycle] #10

Thus the number 36 was a sacred number that was linked to the 36 room-gods of the Zodiac, and the number 666 was a summary number of the Sun-god, and his sacred number as the ruler of the Zodiac. This was an archetypal blueprint of how the enemy counterfeited the original Celestial Gospel, by substituting his astrology for the foundations of the Creator’s Biblical Astronomy, going back to the Tower of Babel., where the original one language of humanity was confused by God to prevent the enemy’s One world unity based on Astrology as the counterfeit of The Creator’s Celestial Gospel.

The primary temporal symbol in Mesoamerican myth, as in other ancient cultures was the snake who swallowed it own tail. We find in this circular snake, a symbol of cyclic time depicted below in the concentric Calendar Wheel, where the outer wheel shows the 52-year cycle of the Maya Calendar, divided into 13 renditions of the four year cycles [13 x 4=52] known as [rabbit, house, cane & reed]. We noted these elements in our earlier comparison, of the  structures of the El Castillo Pyramid and the common deck of playing cards. The four circles in the Serpent’s body relate to the four Cardinal Directions of the calendar, embodied in four of the Mayan spirit heads.

Figure 6. Maya Concentric Calendar Wheel #11

cirular snake calendat wheel


The graphic above conforms to the Egyptian serpentine image of the Sothic Calendar arranged, according to the four Cardinal Directions, as the serpent head swallows its own tail, with scales symbolizing the stars of heaven. This Egyptian picture of the Sothic Calendar shows a reconciliation between the 360° circle with the 365-days of the calendar year. Encircled in the serpent’s coils at the cardinal points, are the 4 Egyptian gods Sothis/Sirius, Isis, Osiris & Horus, each presiding over a cycle of 365 years which totaled the 1461–year cycle when the rising of the star Sirius aligned with the Sunrise. This idea links to the 260-day tzolkin calendar of the Maya, because the Sothic Calendar also conforms to the 260-day pattern [260 x 1461] that equals 365.25 x 1040 days.

 This provides another depiction of the world monomyth cropping up in cultures with no direct physical contact,  appearing at different points in history, yet sharing universal archetypes of archaeo-astronomy based on truths of a common celestial myth.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Maya pyramid-building culture of ancient Mexico had a very advanced Astronomy. They also regularly divided their year into 360 days, called a “tun” and added 5 extra days, called “haab,” considered an unlucky period. According to Peter Thompkins, Maya also “calculated the orbit of the Earth about the Sun as 365.2420 days, and marked the close of the year by the erection of a stone they called a tun. They did likewise for a twenty- year cycle or Katun, a period they considered to be governed by the Conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn.“#121

 The history of Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction cycles was also recognized in close association to the precession of the equinoxes in the Hebrew cosmology seen in Genesis 1:6-10, along the world-views of many ancient cultures including, Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece and the Meso–Americans. Peter Thompkins continues by saying that; “The Maya had a very special sacred year of 260 days called tzolkin, that the Aztecs called tonalamatl.” This 260-day sacred calendar was “divided into 13 months of 20 days, and the multiples of 13 and 20 became the heart of a chronological computation stunning in its simplicity and exactness. A greater cycle of 260 years was 13 consecutive Jupiter-Saturn cycles of 20 years.”#132 

The greater 260-year cycle based on the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction, cycle was also a tool utilized by the Mayans to break down the extra long cycle of the precession of the equinoxes. Thompkins states that the “Maya also had a cycle of 942,890 days, or 2,582 years, that turned out to be 130 Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions.”#143 Twice this cycle [5,163 years], not only gave the equivalent of the greater 260-year cycle of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions, but 100 of these greater 260-year cycles equaled 26,000 years, often reckoned the length of the precession. With Kepler’s Trigon, the Mayan tzolkin, and the Egyptian Sothic Calendar, we have three culturally distinct and seemingly independent views of how Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions subdivided the precession. The amazing visual similarity between the Mayan tzolkin wheel, that preceded Kepler’s geometric structure of the Trigon by centuries, is also worth noting, especially in how both calendars include a reference to the lunar cycles according to the base 60 number system. This provides an ancient basis and foundation on the Sexegesimal, earth-commensurate standard based on precession, from the Mayan culture. The Kepler Trigon unfolds the pattern of the clock face of the precession, opening a new precessional age on average every 2160 years, with the close approach of Jupiter and Saturn to the vernal point. In this division of the precession into manageable parts, we can see how the luni-solar cycle, governed by the phi ratio, depicts the universal cosmic order based on precessional number factors ruling their calendar, was reflected in their monumental architecture.

Figure 7. Kepler’s Trigon #15

ancient maya civilization

We gain true insight into the stellar revelation the Almighty Creator invested into His Celestial Gospel as we witness the mathematical precision of luni-solar and planetary astro–cyles, patterned to the Pi and Phi ratios. Cultural traditions of the world have spawned their astrologies as counterfeit views of the original truths of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy. that diverged from the authentic principles of the Messianic Prophecies of the Celestial Gospel in favor of cultural idols of astrology and conventional views of Archaeology, and Archaeo-Astronomy, to support these false views. The Conventional wisdom of archaeology has been to view the results of the digs and sites, from their mainline historical view of the culture and society that produced it, with various regional influences considered. Although a portion of attention has been focused on societal religion, and the religious context and practices that produced these sites, conventional wisdom would benefit if more attention was focused on the principles of the world monomyth, by Joseph Campbell in this context. As stated, our position is in general agreement with Campbell’s idea of the world monomyth [The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949] that names Christ as a prime example among others, of the universal hero setting the pattern upon which all cultural hero’s have been formed.#16

We can also trace the Archaeo-Astronomy of ancient cultures going back to the Tower of Babel that were first based on the tenets of the Celestial Gospel but became corrupted in the Babel’s ancient astrology [Gen. 11:1-9]. We can also track the Babylonian name for their temporal cycle involving the Moon’s eclipse cycle, or period of lunation, which is called a saros rooted in the Hebrew word [zera]. This period of lunation lasts 18 years and 11, (10.96) days. Mathematics in modern times defines, zero is the absence of quantity, the point where a constant function changes its sign from positive to negative, (or the spiritual to the physical). Practically, this transition between the physical and spiritual realms is embodied in Jesus Christ, who is the apex and crown of Creation. He is the point of access to God-the Heavenly Father and as the Word made flesh, he is seated on his throne at the right hand of God, at the utmost pinnacle of the cosmos. [Eph. 2:4-8]

Due in part to the importance of Astronomy in ancient culture, and the star religions that formed around ancient timekeeping and celestial science, our view is the astronomical myth and tradition linked to ancient Star religions, is a primary and universal key to understanding the inner workings of cultural archetypes. Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy is of special and unique value here, because of the message and blueprint it carries in the celestial prophecies of Christ, as seen in the planetary unions surrounding the Star of Bethlehem, marking Christ’s birth, unlocking the keys of Biblical Astronomy. The primary caveat here of course, is that based on the Creator’s Intelligent Design, the celestial and angelic signs of the birth of Christ are viewed as direct messages from the Creator’s Throne-room regarding the long awaited appearance of Christ-God’s Only Begotten Son.

One of the many tenets of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy is to focus on how numerous star religions have deviated from the original message concerning Christ, the ultimate Hero, written in the Heavens. Basic forms of Astrology that emerged during this process of corruption were documented in our website study on “Biblical Astronomy vs. Astrology,” providing important background on this specific study. As opposed to understanding star religions in a skewed light of the exclusivity of cultural contexts, that only blind their adherents to their idol practices. We prefer an inductive Scriptural approach seen in Rom. 1: 22-25, which enlightens us as to how Astrology has corrupted and hidden key Scriptural truths from coming to the surface, since they have changed God’s truth into lies, worshipping and serve the Creation more than the Creator. Our focus is to shed new light on these practices, preferably based on principles akin to the original, more ancient Astronomy, from which idol astrology first deviated. In the process we will notice common points that come to light, as these star religions venerated idol relics in place of the original Hero, [Acts 7:43].

The Authentic Protevangelium was the Witness of the Stars. The Celestial Gospel of the Coming Hero-Redeemer: Jesus Christ, was the 1st Gospel written from God to Man. The the signs of the zodiac were the first symbol–heralds of a Coming Redeemer, whom we would know based on the written Messianic prophecies. From the first prophecy of the Promised Seed [Gen. 3:15] the woman’s seed was spoken as the one to bruise the serpent with a terminal death blow to its head. Rev. 12:4 below reveals the central goal of the adversary, “to devour the woman’s child as soon as it was born.” We witness this intent in Herod’s slaughter of infants born nearest when the Magi’s star first appeared over Bethlehem. All of Biblical history revolves around this conflict between the two seeds; the seed of the woman and the serpent’s seed. Just as the “woman” has a dual fulfillment, so the symbolism in reference to the serpent–dragon in Rev. 12 changes also.

Revelation 12: 3-5
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven”- “Another” is a Greek word indicating that this heavenly wonder was different from that described in Rev. 12:1. As a first heavenly wonder noted a woman of the Constellation Virgo, so this second heavenly wonder, though different from Virgo, was still a celestial sign.

‘and behold a great red dragon‘– Although there are several potential celestial candidates for this sky dragon, including Hydra which also spans a third of the stars of the ecliptic with its massive size, it becomes apparent that Draco is the sign that is referred to in its initial significance in Revelation. This is the first of 13 occurrences of the Greek word “drakon“ in the book of Revelation, with the first eight uses of this word here in Rev. 12, [Rev. 12:3,4,7,7, 9,13,16,17, Rev. 13:2, 4,11, Rev. 16:13, 20:2]. The number thirteen is symbolic of rebellion and the dragon embodies the idea of spiritual warfare in the heavens. As we inspect the details of the Biblical record of Revelation 12, the characteristics of Draco the dragon come to the surface. The first incidence of the word “Dragon” in Rev. 12:3 are focused traits of Draco over the other names of the adversary in Rev. 12:9. As a result of the war in heaven, the dragon and his 3rd of the heavenly angels were cast down to the earth. This was depicted astronomically as a meteor shower in 3 BC, that curiously coincides with the events surrounding the birthday of Jesus Christ.

Figure 8. The October 8th Giacobinid Meteor shower of 2000. #17

Related image

R.H. Allen was one of the first I’m aware of that linked the casting down of the dragon and his angels to a meteor shower. The meteor shower in question originated from the Dragon at the North pole, tied to its parent comet known as the Giacobini-Zinner Comet.

I was not aware of the idea of this specific Meteor shower being linked to the second celestial wonder of Rev. 12, until I listened a teaching by Jon Nessle regarding the Eta-Draconid Meteors correlated with the birth of Christ.

 According to Rev. Nessle, there are actually 3 sets of Draconid meteors, two of which show a radiant or origin, from the star Eta-Draconis. One of these stars is viewed as the greater and the other the lesser of the Eta-Draconids. It is the lesser of these two that occurred during the period of Sept. 9th-12th in 3 BC. #18

A defining factor of this Meteor shower is that the lesser Eta-Draconids are best viewed at sunset, or in the early evening, while most Meteor showers are best seen later at night, as stated in the excerpt below from the October 2nd, 98’ Weekly News Bulletin of Sky & Telescope;

“On the evening of Oct. 8th, debris from the Periodic Comet Giacobini-Zinner/  21P may provide a stunning sky show. The Giacobinid Meteor shower turned out two of the best Meteor displays of the 20th century in 1933 and 1946. Lesser showers arrived in 1926, 1952, & 1985. Unlike most Meteor showers the Giacobinids are at their best in the evening as opposed to after midnight. Their radiant is in the tail of the Constellation Draco. This point is highest right after dark at mid-northern latitudes; it moves lower throughout the night and is near the horizon by dawn.”#19

This fact alone showing the meteors falling from their radiant in the dragon’s tail as the dragon sign itself descends from the upper reaches of the sky to the earthly horizon in the dawning of a new day, when Christ was born, to enact the casting down and descent of the dragon’s power, on the Sept. 11th birth of Christ. Since this new day began at sunset in the Hebrew Calendar, the first moments of the birth time of the promised seed were revealed with the setting star Spica, about 20 minutes after Sunset in Virgo. The graphic of Draco at the celestial North Pole below [Plate III] depicts the head & body of the dragon inside the northern polar circle, with the dragon’s tail starting with the star Thuban, outside of the polar circle.

Figure 9. Draco the Dragon and the North Astronomical pole, from the Star Atlas of Hevelius. 20

draco

Also shown is Cepheus the Crowned King with Polaris, the pole star, between his feet. Since the star Eta-Draconis is located below the serpent’s head near the ecliptic North pole, with Thuban in the dragon’s tail, as the equatorial pole star, it symbolizes the dragon’s dominion, both as the original morning star and the god of this world. We should note that though the north-pole of the Equator  was wrested from the dragon, via the precession of the poles, he retains sway over the pole of the ecliptic, the celestial axis around which the equatorial pole revolves. This is a still point in the heavens near the core of the Dragon, and the Cat’s Eye Nebula [NGC 6543] between the stars Grumium and Chi Draconis. Notes of interest regarding the star Grumium, also spelled Grumian, meaning “subtle or deceiver,” as Denning: “views the radiant of the Meteor flow seen about the 29th of May, also named the Draconids,”#21 as one of 3 distinct Meteor showers from Draco, this being the sole whose radiant was not Eta-Draconis. In Figure 10 below, 3 second magnitude stars in the dragon’s head  are readily visible, with a red star-Thuban in the dragon‘s tail. The testimony of this dragon sign embodies the enemy cast down, including other categories of the spirit realm seen in this meteor shower, framing the birth of Christ. Although the casting down of the dragon occurred in the 1st Heaven and Earth, [2 Pet. 3:5-7] in the deep past before human history, the Dragon’s fall  with his minions was not a foregone conclusion, until Christ was resurrected and Ascended. This is one aspect of the Rev. 12 record, that shows it is not in chronological order. With the birth of Christ, the prophecy of the dragon’s doom in [Gen. 3:15] was tied to promised seed for the first time.

This Meteor shower from September 9th-11th 3 BC, marking the birth of the ascending Morning star, shows most clearly this transition of heavenly and earthly power, tolling the death knell of Draco’s dominion. The occurrence of this Meteor shower at sunset was another sign of confirmation that would have drawn the Magi’s focus to sunset, as the time of day to be watchful for the celestial signs marking the birth of Christ.

Figure 10. Draco the Dragon at the Celestial North Pole. #22

This Eta-Draconid Meteor shower during the birth of Christ also links to the planet Saturn, tying the Jupiter-Saturn triple conjunction of 7 BC to the Jupiter-Regulus triple union in Leo in 3BC. This first Jupiter link was based on the retrograde motion and triple unions of Jupiter, 4 years apart. Saturn is also tied to the star Eta-Draconis in its regular transit across the Meridian, at midnight of May 23rd, filed for centuries occurring only 3 days before the 1st Jupiter-Saturn triple union, May 27th of 7 BC. This binds the 1st Jupiter-Saturn Triple conjunction to a series of celestial signs marking Christ’s birth from 3-1 BC, opening with the May 19th, 3 BC Mercury-Saturn union. This not only adds a conclusive celestial bond with the Celestial Prelude signs in 7-5 BC with Christ’s birth signs in 3-1 BC, but also ties Draco vertical at the north pole with the Jupiter-Saturn triple conjunctions, on the ecliptic, showing the casting down of Draco from his high perch at the North Pole to a horizontal position on the ecliptic, where he has a prime view of the secrets of the pit, [Isa. 14:15]. This linkage with the planet Saturn and the star Eta-Draconis is focused on the initial dominion & first estate of the dragon at the pinnacle of the 1st heavens and earth. But the Meteor shower shows the dragon cast down at sunset, in the twilight of his dominion. The Eta-Draconid Meteors encircle the birth of Christ on 9/11, and led to the 1st triple union of Jupiter-Regulus in Leo, on 9/14th. This September 14th date is key for at least three reasons. First, it fell within the annual twenty-day period when Virgo is clothed with the Sun. Secondly, it initiates Saturn’s 13-year ring cycle, and 3rd it seals a 1st Jupiter-

Regulus Conjunction in Leo in 3 BC. Since this Planetary union was visible to the Magi, as early as the 11th of September, the meteors were already falling from their perch high in the northern sky, signifying the dragon cast down & his third of the stars of heaven, at the same time of the events marking Christ’s birth, the heir apparent to fill this gap in heaven vacated by draco and his minions.

The Astronomy of the ancient Maya civilization also holds some fascinating keys regarding the star Eta Draconis, relating to the Maya Serpent Calendar. Dr. Marian Hatch, an expert on the Maya Serpent Calendar, made some tantalizing connections between the orientation of the serpents on this amazingly detailed calendar, and the positions of the Constellation Draco, in the northern skies. She discovered that:

“the varied snake positions link true with the path of Draco’s Constellation as it would have appeared in the evening sky 2000 years ago. Dr. Hatch noted that the star Eta Draconis was unique that it alone among all other stars stayed virtually unchanged in right ascension for the 2300 years between 1800 BC to 500 AD, regularly transiting across the Meridian at midnight of May 23rd, and November 22nd, with a variation of less than a degree. Thus the star Eta Draconis provided the Maya with an accurate measure of the sidereal year, and a yardstick for comparison between the tropical and sidereal years, as well as indicating the precessional lag in  other stars…#23/4 {emphasis mine}

Figure 11. Draco’s position in the Maya Serpent Calendar. #24

precession of the poles

Dr. Hatch’s research shows an implied link between the precession of the poles and the precession of the equinoxes, as they are represented both vertical at the North Pole and horizontally on the ecliptic. From the graphic above we will also notice how the bodies of the serpents align with the circular rows of the Maya day-gods, which are depicted as scales on the serpent’s hide, [Job 41: 7-18]. This calendar’s accuracy is unsurpassed in the history of Astronomy, as it incorporates the Venus cycle in correlation with the luni-solar cycles. We will look deeper into the details of this dragon calendar, tying to the head and  tail of the dragon, its scales and so-called lunar Nodes as we progress in new studies along these lines, revealing spiritual implications of the Mazzaroth linked to its four serpentine Constellations.

As the Maya Serpent Calendar shows, Eta Draconis supplied the benchmark by which both the the tropical and sidereal years were tracked and contrasted, not to mention the effect of precession on heavenly stars, which seems the Mayans could have tracked going back to at least 1800 BC, coinciding with the star Eta-Draconis. The linked Eta-Draconid Meteor shower also marked Christ’s birth, providing a powerful witness to the dragon’s fall, depicting the casting down of the dragon with his minions for all time.

It is no “coincidence” that earth’s axis is tilted 23.4 degrees from vertical or 66.6 degrees from hortizontal. This keeps the terrestrial pole pointed to the North star, which 5000 years ago was a tail star in Draco-named Thuban, but now has shifted via the precession of the poles to Polaris in Ursa Minor, the little flock underfoot of King Cepheus, seated at God’s Right Hand, embodied in Christ with his spiritual body-the Church.

As individual believers, sons & daughters of God in Christ, we too can crush the serpent enemy immediately with his minions, under our feet, [Rom. 16:20] as we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ at the Heavenly Father’s Right Hand!

God Bless!

Rene’


Footnotes

1. https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendars.html#Hebrew
2. [www.bloodmoonscoming.com] Graphic 3B “Like No Other”
3. http://www.777thsabbath.com/page97.html
4. Number in Scripture, E.W. Bullinger
5. [THE JUPITER-SATURN CONJUNCTION GEOCENTRIC TROPICAL ZODIAC) 600 BCE to 2400 CE copyright 1998-1999 by Richard Nolle all rights reserved].
6. Stellarium Astronomical Software; August 27th, 70 AD
7. Fig. 3 picture credit for El Castillo Pyramid.
8. Fig. 4 picture credit for Ouroboros serpent [https://stock.adobe.com/]
9. Fig. 5 picture credit for Roulette Wheel [www.shutterstock.com]
10. Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids, Peter Thompkins [general reference]
11. IBID, p41. from the De Siguenza Manuscripts.
12. IBID
13. IBID
14. IBID
15. Figure 7 picture credit, for Kepler’s Trigon.
16. Joseph Campbell, An Introduction, Revised version.
17. Figure 8 picture credit for the Draconid Meteor Showers.
18. Jon Nessle’s Teaching on Draconids
19. October 2nd, 98’ Weekly News Bulletin of Sky & Telescope
20. Star Atlas of Hevelius, Draco @ the North Pole
21. Star Names their Lore & Meaning, R.A. Allen, p. 212.
22. Figure 10 picture credit of Draco. [space.com]
23. Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids, Peter Thompkins [general reference]
24. Dr. Marian Hatch on Draco’s position in the Maya Serpent Calendar. IBID