As a follow-up to the Blood Moon Eclipse on October 8th 2014, there is a Partial Solar Eclipse on October 23rd. The Blood Moon Eclipse took place on the Feast of Tabernacles, but the solar eclipse is not linked to any Hebrew Feast or holy day during the month. In our latest blog post just prior to the Blood Moon Lunar eclipse, we began our study in Revelation 12 regarding the first “wonder” or heavenly sign pertaining to the “Woman [Virgo] clothed with the Sun, with the Moon at her feet,” depicting the signs marking the birth of Christ on September 11th 3BC. Some important added details regarding the October 8th Blood Moon lunar eclipse involves recognition that the Draconid Meteor Showers also took place on October 8th and 9th. Usually, the bright light of the full Moon would make the meteor shower harder for observers to see, but during the Blood Moon lunar eclipse, the bright lunar light is dimmed, making the meteor shower easier to view for those looking to catch a glimpse of some falling stars during the Blood Moon. Also at this time Jupiter is nearing Leo, reminding us of the king planet Jupiter’s triple crowning of Regulus the king star, marking the birth of Christ in 3-2 BC. [read more]
Just to ensure that we notice, not only do we have a Draconid Meteor Shower during the Blood Moon lunar eclipse on October 8th, but the Orionid Meteor shower is also set to occur during the Partial Solar eclipse on the 23rd of the month. To understand the greater significance of the meteor showers during the lunar and solar eclipses in October 0f 2014, we need to reconsider the Draconid Meteor Showers surrounding the birth of Christ from Sept. 9th-12th in 3 BC. This provides deeper insight regarding the 2nd heavenly wonder in Revelation 12:3-5.
September 9th to the 12th 3BC. The Eta-Draconid Meteor Showers, with their radiant in Draco, the Dragon cast down. The Moon was mid-body with the Sun in Virgo occulting the planet Venus, starting at 11:50 PM.
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 wonder was different from the one in Rev. 12:1. As the first heavenly wonder referred to the zodiac sign of the woman Virgo, so this second heavenly wonder was also a Constellation, not a Conjunction of planets, but a Meteor shower originating in Draco. As the Draconid Meteor shower historically began on the 9th of September, there were already meteors falling 2 days prior to the big show on 9-11-3BC. The Constellation
of the Dragon is the obvious celestial candidate fitting the following details in Revelation 12:
“and behold a great red dragon“- Although there are other celestial candidates for this sky dragon, such as Hydra, which also spans a third of the stars of the ecliptic with its massive size, it becomes apparent that Draco is the sign referred to here, due to its position at the North Pole, along with the fact that the star Eta in Draco was the radiant of the Draconid meteor shower. This means that as viewed from the earth, the star Eta-Draconis appears to be the stellar source point where the falling stars originate.
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]. Biblically, the number 13 symbolizes rebellion, as the dragon embodies the idea of spiritual warfare in the heavens. Considering the Biblical details of Revelation 12, the traits of Draco the dragon come to the surface. This Constellation of the dragon, has four stars of the 2nd magnitude, and a star in the tail is Thuban the subtle; [Genesis 3:1]. Other 2nd magnitude stars are located in the dragon’s head, first Rastaban meaning the head of the subtle, and 2nd Ethanin, the long serpent, referring to its massive size, that originally enclosed both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. It is intriguing to notice that the head and tail of the dragon are specifically marked by 2nd magnitude stars of this Constellation.
Isa. 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
The Hebrew word for “serpent” in Isa. 27:1 above [nachash] is used twice, in this verse establishing the link between the old serpent of Genesis and “leviathan” [H3882] the piercing serpent, and the crooked serpent. Reference is also made to the dragon [tanniyn] in the sea. The piercing or fleeing serpent is mentioned in Job 26, undoubtedly a reference to the polar constellation of Draco, upon which all the “garnished heavens” turn. We see the direct relation here because the words for leviathan as the crooked serpent in Job 26 are the same Hebrew words as the piercing serpent [nachash] in [Isa. 27:1, Gen. 3:1]
Job 26:13 By his spirit7307 he hath garnished8235 the heavens;8064 his hand3027 hath formed2490 the crooked1281 serpent.5175
The implication here is that the Creator originally beautified the lustrous stars of all the heavens, as part of the body of this great serpent, watching over the celestial pole. As the head of the serpent at the north pole of heaven oversaw the stars of his body through his tail, so his dominion over the angels in the first Heaven and Earth was complete, as he lead the celestial chorus in prasing the One True God, prior to his fall. However, since the celestial canopy of stars was not created until the 4th day of the Creation Week, we find Bible truths disclosured concerning the First Heaven and Earth, when the angels were in their First Estate, lead by Lucifer prior to his rebellion against the Creator.
As we may recall, the dragon’s head and tail came up in our study of the lunar eclipse cycle, [read more] as it was symbolized by the ancients. A point of interest in that study was how the lunar cycle indicated the workings of the serpent’s seed in a situation. As the dragon’s head tells it’s tail what to do, the desires of the dragon, contrary to the purposes of God, are carried out by both the serpent’s seed in the human realm, and in the spirit realm. The graphic of Draco the dragon shown below, winds his way down between the two flocks in the northern skies, with the lower coils of his tail beneath the star Thuban, the archaic pole star. Here Draco, in its first estate formerly lead the heavenly chorus in joyful praise of the true God, now is depicted as the source of division, sedition and destruction between these flocks, now pictured as bears. R.H. Allen notes a key point that for the ancient Chaldeans; “Draco, a much longer Constellation than with us, is seen winding downwards and in front of Ursa Major, and even into later times, clasped both of the bears in its folds… with the title: Arctoe et Draco.“1 This is pictured below:
Figure i. “Arctoe et Draco”
Rev. 12:3-5 [con’t]
“and seven crowns upon his head- diadem filament of silk, linen, or something of the like. Used here Rev. 13:1, 19:12.” This indicates the crowning spiritual dominion of Lucifer, pictured as Draco the dragon and the original bright and morning star, [Isa. 14:12] discussed in our study of the first triple union of Jupiter–Saturn from 7 to 5 BC. [read more] This emphasizes the exercised dominion of the Dragon in the kingdoms of the darkness of this world: [Eph. 1:21-22, 2:2, 6:12].
“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven;” One aspect of this statement refers to the angels under Lucifer’s direct dominion from the First Heavens and Earth, who revolted against the true God, comprising the evil spirit realm. Another aspect is the actual size of this heavenly sign. As Seiss states regarding Draco, “the Dragon wound about at least one half of the northern sky, his tail alone extending over the territory of the third part of the stars.” 2
Even as the immanent fall of the Dragon was depicted in the stars with the Draconid Meteor Shower at the time of Christ’s birth, so the demise of the dragon is established as the victorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ is marked in the Blood Moon Lunar and Solar Eclipses of October 2014. The dragon’s fall is mirrored in the meteoric rise to power of God’s only begotten Son, as the signs marking the birth of Christ are seen again in the context of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015. The Partial Solar Eclipse on 10-23-14 marked by the Orionid Meteor Shower has a traditional radiant point of Orion’s right hand.
As the Blood Moon Prophecy in Joel 2:31 tells us that “the sun shall be turned to darkness and the Moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, we know that these blood moons are a precursor to the the Second coming of Christ. As Joel mentions the darkening of the Sun and Moon in reference to Solar and Lunar eclipses together or in close proximity, the heavenly signs of October 2014 should arrest our attention. In this sense the Blood Moon Lunar and Solar eclipses in October 2014 serve as foreshadowing for additional heavenly signs that will occur later during the tribulation period. This record is found in Revelation 6.
Rev. 6:12-13
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the Sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the Moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.”
We can see above the mention of stars of heaven falling to the earth, like a meteor shower, in the context of Blood Moon lunar and Solar eclipses, as the same kind of precursor to the prophecies of the return of Christ as seen in Luke, who records the Lord’s warning, followed with the mentioning of the heavenly signs with a parable of the fig tree…
Luke 21: 25, 27-33
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring, 27 And they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift your heads; for your redemption draws nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; behold the fig tree and all the treees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away before all be fulfilled.
These verses and the current heavenly signs seem to be showing us that we are in the last generation mentioned above, when all things are fulfilled, and that we would do well to heed these warnings and prepare for that great and glorious day of the Second Coming of Christ!
Footnotes
1. Star Names their Lore and Meaning, R.H. Allen
2. Gospel in the Stars, Joseph Seiss
3. Strong’s Concordance provides Biblical Greek and Hebrew word references