In just a few days, you can see a rare phenomenon in the night sky that has not been seen in almost eight centuries.
The two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, orbit on December 21, sometimes referred to as the “Christmas Star”.
When the planets mark the beginning of the winter solstice, they form a double planet. According to “Star of Bethlehem” documentary writer Rick Larson, it is a rare event and one that has not been seen since the Middle Ages. But in reality, the planets will not be at all close. It will look the same to viewers on Earth.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
“The Bethlehem star is not as beautiful as what is happening on December 21,” Larson told CBN News.
Larsen has done a lot of research on the subject, tracing the actual astronomical movements of the planets and stars up to the time of Christ. “The constellation Bethlehem is the union of Jupiter and Venus,” he explains. “The connection, which means coming together, was so close that basically they were stacked like in Figure 8 and they didn’t obscure each other’s brightness and the result was a bright star that no one ever saw alive.”
Principles about the ‘Star of Bethlehem’
CBN News reports that while there have been many theories about the identity of the biblical star of Bethlehem that appeared at the time of Christ’s birth, a combination of historical historical research, astronomical insight, and biblical understanding has come together to present a plausible explanation that is both miraculous and understandable.
As Larson points out, this theory holds that Jupiter is part of that star. In the ancient world, all heavenly bodies were considered “stars”.
Presumably, in Babylon the deer or the three wise men were court advisers, who used the stars to guide the ruler. Why would God guide astrologers, kings of all peoples, kings? This example, according to some writers, was Christ’s first human ministry for unbelievers.
Who exactly was Maggie?
But who were these mysterious wise men? Philo, an ancient Jewish writer, speaks of them.
Larson, an expert on the Bible star in Bethlehem, once told CBN News that Philo “describes Maggie as a special school, called the Eastern school, and this Maggie whom he admires. He says that these people have understood and explained in a natural order. Is capable. Natural order to others. And they, according to Philo, are probably what we call proto-scientists. ”
Early church historians date the birth of Christ to about BC. Were giving the date BC, although other scholars have dated BC. The former was saying because it seems a misunderstanding of the death of King Herod between the two dates.
Larson explains that what Maggie saw were five astronomical connections that occurred in the period from saw gust to August gust to June BC. When one planet passes by another, and appears from Earth, they line up – that would be of great importance to these astrologer-advisors.
Now we know what these connections mean for these brains as they may have observed from their distant country. These connections include Leo, the planet Venus, the planet Jupiter and the constellation Regulus.
For the people of Babylon, the lion represented Israel. Venus was maternity. Jupiter was for patriarchy or monarchy. And Regulus is a symbol of royalty.
Put this together in the Babylonian mentality and what do you get? There is a clear and repeated message that a great king has been born in Israel.
Why December 25?
Larsen used computerized astronomical tools to track the conversion of these celestial signs associated with Jupiter, Venus, Leo, and Regulus, when they would have formed.
“Nine months after that first union – nine months – the period of human pregnancy. We’ve seen Jupiter and Venus come together to form the brightest star anyone has ever seen.”
It was 2 AD. BC would have been in mid-June – again near Regulus in Leo. Eventually, Larson died in 25 B.C. In, this conclusion is reached on December 25th.
“Of course, they didn’t use our calendar – you know December 25th is nothing to them. They never heard of December, but for us, it could be a sign and it’s interesting that the gift happened on December 25th. Was, ”he said.
Declare the glory of the God of heaven
With today’s telescopes, the grandeur of the sky is becoming more visible than ever before. Even with the naked eye, the psalmist declared that “the heavens declare the glory of God.”
How could he do that? Could the constellation of Bethlehem be an example in the proclamation of the Messiah? Or is this some kind of misguided astrologer?
“The Bible comes down very hard on astrology. Respect for the stars, the stars order your life or guide you or whatever guides you – you know it’s a murder in the Old Testament.” Said Lars.
But the Bible also says that God puts signs in the sky. Maybe Bethlehem’s star was like a thermometer.
“A thermometer can tell you whether it’s hot or cold but it can’t make you hot or cold – because it’s not an active agent. The stars are like that. According to the Bible, they can tell you things; they can be signs. God’s high power, but He can’t do anything to you, they’re burning gas balls, you know, ”Larsen said.
The Romans thought the star was about them – instead, he proclaimed the Kings of Kings
Of course, the star of Rome who ruled most of the world at the time had an idea about him and they put him on one of their coins with the image of Caesar August Gust, representing how impressive the star was. A kind of Rome rather than the star of Bethlehem. And maybe that’s why Maggie rode to Israel.
While the deadly Augustus has long gone through history, Jesus was worshiped by millions of people around the world as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Eternal One who created heaven and worshiped it as His own sign – who said that one day He would return.
So the deer went to the Jewish capital, Jerusalem, in search of this infant king, and the Jews sent him to Bethlehem, where the Jewish scriptures prophesied a king. The rest is history.
Editor’s note: CBN News has been reporting on Bethlehem’s true Bible star for years. Much of the material for this story was originally researched and written almost two decades ago by Gailan Totheroh.
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