THE CHRISTMAS STAR

The Christmas story with the angels, shepherds, wise men and star has gripped the imagination of many over the last 20 centuries. We are indebted to two Biblical accounts, one in Matthew, and one in Luke. They provide the basic information needed to reconstruct Mid-Eastern history and astronomical events in order to discover exactly what occurred in the night sky on that first Christmas when Messiah was born in the cave at Bethlehem amongst the cattle and horses.

Luke records that it was the whim of the Roman Emperor Augustus which sent Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This 125 Km journey by foot, and on the back of a donkey, was particularly exhausting for a woman in her 9th month of pregnancy. In the event, they only just got to Bethlehem in time. To make matters worse, when they arrived there, Bethlehem was so crowded that there was no room for them at the inn. Mary had the some Emperor Augustus to thank for that too. He had decreed that there should be a world census and taxation so that he would know the exact resources of his Empire. This order required that each return to the city which had originated their family lineage, and Bethlehem was the city for all those descended from King David.

The Census order was given by Augustus in 8 BC, but it was implemented province by province. Provincial Italy was taxed in 8/7 BC. Rome itself was taxed in 7/6 BC. As for the province of Judea, Luke records that it was taxed when 'Cyrenius was first Governor of Syria.' Senator P. Sulpicius Quirinius, otherwise known as Cyrenius, was Governor of Syria twice. As Luke states, it was on the first occasion that the world census occurred. Quirinius was Legate (Governor) to Syria an that first occasion for 5 years during the Homonadensian War. He then become Advisor to Gaius Caesar in I BC. Additionally, the Christian historian Tertullian records that the Judean census took place when Sentius Saturninus was Proconsul to Syria, attending to the day to day running of the province, which included Judea. He left early in 2 BC to be replaced by Quinctillius Varus, about a year before the death of Herod, who was the king of Judea. These facts indicate that the census acted on by Joseph and Mary had been completed by late in 3 BC. This is confirmed by the date of Herod's death. According to Matthew, Herod ordered the slaughter of all children two years old and under, according to the time the Star first appeared to the Wise Men. Therefore, if we back-track two years from the date of Herod's demise, this will give the date for the first appearance of the Star and an approximate date for the birth of the Christ-Child.

Josephus records that Herod died shortly after an eclipse of the Moon seen at Jericho, and sometime before the Feast of Passover. It is this point which has caused much historical. confusion, as we have to select between four Lunar eclipses. There is one key piece of evidence which is often overlooked. The Jewish historian Josephus, records that there was a Jewish holiday celebrating Herod's death on 2nd day of the month Shebat. Significantly, this date is in accord with only one of those 4 eclipses, namely the one an 9th Jan, 1 BC. The 2nd Shebat date fell just 15 days after that eclipse. This means that Herod died 24th January I BC. Consequently, the Christmas star must have appeared throughout 3 and 2 BC. This accords with the census completed by late 3 BC.

As to the time of the year that Messiah was born, Luke gives us further details. He records that shepherds were watching over their flocks by night. There are only two specific times in a year when this was done, namely when lambs were being born in the spring or autumn. At other times of the year they were kept safely in their sheep-folds to protect them from wild animals. Significantly the flocks bred in the Bethlehem fields were used for the Temple sacrifices.

It was there, to those shepherds, that the angels announced the birth of the Lamb of God who was to make the final sacrifice for the sin of the world. However, we can pinpoint the in the time of Messiah's birth more exactly. Revelation 12 tells of the birth of Messiah when the constellation Virgo (the woman in the heavens) was clothed with the sun and had the moon at her feet. This tells us that Jesus was born when the sun and moon were in Virgo. In other words, at the time of the September New Moon, or shortly thereafter. This fits the autumn lambing season. Furthermore, it coincides with the season of the three Jewish feasts, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. Interestingly, the apostle John records in John 1:14 that the "Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us." As the New Moon was on the 10th and Tabernacles on the 25th September in 3 BC, the birth of Christ would be somewhere between those dates.

Why then do we celebrate Messiah's birth on December 25th? There are 4 reasons. Firstly there was the Jewish feast of Hanukkah - the Festival of Lights, or Feast of Dedication as it is called in John 10:22. On this occasion, Jewish children lit candles, sang hymns and gave gifts to celebrate a genuine miracle which occurred with the Temple Menorah (or 7-branched lamp-stand) in 165 BC. Now the early Christians were nearly all Jewish and the other Festivals were linked with Messiah's ministry rather than his birth. It seemed the natural occasion to commemorate the birth of Messiah who had come to be the Light of the World [Jn 8:2), and who admonished His followers to have their Lamps trimmed and burning as they waited for Him to Return (Matthew 25).

This Jewish feast occurred on 25th Kislev which corresponds to our month of December. Up until 1583 AD, the time when the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the 25th Kislev and 25th December were the same day. Following the introduction of the new calendar, the two dates parted company. England did not adopt the new calendar until 1752 AD, by which time it was 11 days out of step with Europe.

However December 25th was also celebrated by the Romans as the feast of the Saturnalia, which celebrates the winter solstice-the longest night of the year. In the northern hemisphere this now occurs on December 21 or 22, but back then it was December 25. On this day the Romans celebrated the birth of the 'New Sun' as the days lengthened and light triumphed over darkness. Romans Christians in those days saw a new significance in this pagan festival. They too celebrated the birth of the New Sun in accordance with Malachi 4:2 - this time the Sun of Righteousness who will arise with healing in His wings.

On the 3rd of February 313 AD in Milan, Italy, the Roman Emperor Constantine issued an edict giving absolute tolerance to Christianity throughout the Empire. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to find that December 25th was first documented as Christmas Day in 354 AD. Under the Roman Emperor Justinian, it became an official holiday around 550 AD. This constitutes the third reason why we celebrate Christmas on that date. However, there is a fourth reason. All the astronomical evidence suggests that this date also marked the final appearance of the Christmas Star. It was on 25th Dec in 2 BC when Jesus was 15 months old, that the Wise Men presented their gifts to the young Messiah.

We have seen that all the evidence points to Messiah being born in September of 3 BC. Furthermore we have noted that there are 4 reasons why this event is celebrated on December 25th. It was commented that one of those reasons involved the Wise Man and the final appearance of the Christmas Star. But how do we know this, and who were the Wise Men? Matthew 2:1 says that they came from the East, that is east of Judea. Now Judea was a buffer state between the sprawling Roman Empire in the West, and the fabulous Persian Empire of the Parthian Dynasty in the east. Whenever the Persians and Romans clashed militarily, the Persians almost always won. Their crack cavalry units could pin down the Roman legions indefinitely. The Persian Empire also controlled the Silk Route to India and China. The gifts that the Wise Man brought to Jesus, the gold, the frankincense and myrrh were the very best that world trade could offer from this route.

As to the identity of the Wise Men, the word that Matthew uses to describe them is Magoi. As we take this word over into a Persian setting, an amazing fact emerges. The Parthian Dynasty was ruled by something equivalent to our houses of Parliament. They called It the Megistanes. The Lower House members were called the Sophoi or 'Wise Ones': the Upper House members were called the Magoi or 'Great Ones'. It was these Magoi, the king makers of their empire, that come to visit Jesus. It was not the astrologers - It was the politicians - and there were more then 3, even if only three types of gift were given.

This delegation of Rulers from Persia penetrated 750 km into Roman territory. They would be escorted by their crack cavalry units that consistently won out against the Romans. These Persians were the finest equestrians in the world. They always rode horses as their means of transport - camels were only used for baggage. Consequently, it was no wonder that Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. He had a small army from a foreign power at the gates of Jerusalem. And at a very inconvenient time too. Herod's garrison that normally protected Jerusalem was away helping fight the Homonadensian War. Jerusalem was virtually undefended. Furthermore, the news was not good. These Magoi proclaimed the birth of a contender for Herod's throne. Indeed, they had come to support this child-king, and their army was there to back them. It was a very tense time for Herod, but he played his options very skillfully.

But why did the Persian Magoi make such a perilous trip at all? There were 3 reasons. Firstly, the Hebrew prophet Daniel had been held in high regard in the Persian court. In Daniel 9, the Magoi had the prophecy of Messiah's sacrifice as a man cut off at age 35 (in the midst of his years). They knew that this event would occur 483 Babylonian years of 360 days after a specific decree. Backtracking 35 years gave a birth date for Messiah of 448 Babylonian years or 442 actual years after the decree. As It turned out, that decree was Issued by the Persian king Artaxerxes in his 20th year which was 445/444 BC. The Magoi consequently knew the time of Messiah's birth as around 3/2 BC on our Calendar.

The second reason was that there had been a Mesopotamian prophet called Balaam who had foretold the coming of the Star that would herald Messiah for all the tribes of Israel (see Numbers 24). Finally, Zoroaster, a pupil of Daniel, had incorporated these prophecies in his bible, called the Zend Avesta, and Zoroastrianism was the State Religion of Persia at the time of Christ's birth. It prophesied that there would be born unto the Jews a King Messiah, and that His coming would be heralded by a sign In the heavens in the constellation Virgo.

That compels us to find out just what this sign was in the heavens. What was the Star that appeared in the skies of 3 and 2 BC? As we begin this search, we note that the word star had a variety of meanings back then. It could mean anything that blazed, shone or moved across the sky. It could mean an aurora, the sun, moon, or a star. It may mean any strange light in the sky - a bolt of lightning, an oddly illuminated cloud, a planet, or grouping of several planets.

The two-year time period for visibility automatically eliminates many objects. Meteors are too transitory. Meteor showers only last a few weeks. Novae or unstable stars shine longer, but rarely last two years. When the record is searched, there was only one nova at the time - a faint one in 4 BC. Supernovas last longer and can be visible in broad daylight. But again we are disappointed. Only two supernovae are recorded near the time of the Nativity: one in 134 BC, the other in 173 AD.

As we examine Matthew, it becomes apparent that the account requires the star to appear in the eastern sky, move across the starry background, and go before the Magoi to Judea. Only comets, planets, or groupings of planets behave this way. Comets can travel through the background stars at the rate of 1 or 2 degrees per day. They may be visible to the naked eye for 100 days or so. Now a journey to Judea from Persia would take the Wise Men about 6 weeks. Comets would thus be visible long enough for the journey itself. But none last 2 years, and no comets were recorded for the prime dates of 3 and 2 BC. Halley's comet flared in the skies in 11 BC. Another comet swept across the heavens in 4 BC. But both of these were too early. So comets fade as a possibility for the Star.

This leaves the option of planets. When we examine the night sky with planets in mind, a series of amazing celestial events occurred. On the 1st August 3 BC the drama began to unfold with Jupiter rising helically in the rays of dawn. On the 13 August Venus and Jupiter stood very close together in the sunrise. On the 18th, Mercury came out of the solar glare, and on September 1st, Mercury and Venus stood 1/3rd degree apart in Leo.

These were dramatic events. The astronomers who were based at the Sippar Institute would see an astrological significance in these signs. Essentially, Jupiter, the King planet, had left the Sun, the Father of the Gods, to be conjoined with Venus, the Virgin Mother in the constellation of Leo, which is the symbol for the tribe of Judah in Israel. Furthermore, Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, had come from the Sun's presence to stand with Venus the virgin mother in the rays of the dawn.

Then on 14th September 3 BC and 17th February and 8th May in 2 BC, Jupiter the King planet stood next to Regulus the brightest star in Leo, which also represented Royalty. Then came a climax to the display. On June 17th 2 BC, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the Solar System, appeared to collide. They stood an Incredible 1/50th degree apart and seemed to fuse into one immense ball of Light. This was an unprecedented event. But that was not all. On 27th August in 2 BC there was a grand meeting of the planets In Virgo. Jupiter and Mars were only 1/7th degree apart and close at hand were Mercury and Venus standing together in the glare of the rising sun.

This dramatic sequence of events ending in Virgo qualified for the Star spoken of by the Zend Avesta. But then Jupiter left the other planets in the dawn, and moved westwards. This was the sign the Magoi were waiting for. Jupiter the key player in the Christmas star sequence was leading them towards Judea. And so they set out. From that moment in Mid-November, Jupiter the King planet actually went before them in the sky towards Judea. Six weeks later as the Magoi checked the pre-dawn sky, Jupiter was on the Meridian due south of Jerusalem. It would appear directly over Bethlehem 65 degrees above the southern horizon.

And just at that time, the final event occurred. Jupiter had reached its furthest point westward, and no longer moved against the background store. It actually 'Stood Over' where the young child was. Incredibly, on that some day, the Sun was at its furthest point south for the year, and stood still in the heavens (for that is what the word 'solstice' means). Jupiter was again in the constellation Virgo as the Zend Avesta predicted, when this occurred on 25th December in 2 BC. It was a unique sequence of events that had landed the Magoi at Bethlehem.

But wait! There is one more important detail. Matthew 2:9-11 implies that something was marking the very house that Jesus had been living in for 15 months. The planets and stars can never mark a single building. What is the answer to this Biblical conundrum? Throughout the Scriptures, God has consistently appeared to His servants in what has often been called the Shekinah Glory Cloud. The Children of Israel were guided from Egypt to Canaan by the 'Pillar of cloud by day, and a Pillar of fire by night' (see Ex.13:21.22 etc). In Genesis it is described as looking like a twisting blazing, shining object at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. The Shekinah out of which God spoke to the patriarch Job appeared as a whirlwind of bright and shining cloud. Abraham saw this cloud of Glory at sunset outside his tent as a burning smoking light. Ezekiel witnessed the Shekinah In which God dwelt as a whirlwind of fire enfolding itself.

For the Magoi, this oddly Illuminated cloud also qualified for the word 'star'. It would have been seen and described by Balaam as he looked down on the hosts of Israel. The Wise Men also had the record of Daniel 7 where the Shekinah is linked with Messiah and described as the 'Cloud of Heaven'. This same Glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds just before the angels announced Messiah's birth to them. Similarly, when the Persian Magoi arrived near Bethlehem in the early dawn, the Shekinah would be seen standing above and marking the very house where Messiah was. The Magoi would Immediately recognize this as a sign of Messiah's presence. They had seen the blazing planetary orb in the sky. Then the key planet, Jupiter had led them to Judea and was now poised above Bethlehem. Finally, with the sign of the Shekinah Glory Cloud standing over the house, the Magoi from Persia would assuredly know that their quest had ended. They had found the One of Whom the Star of David speaks - the Messiah of the Tribes of Israel, Who was to become the Savior of the world.

Has your quest to find Messiah ended? Remember, with child-like faith in the prophecies of Daniel and Balaam contained In the Scriptures, the Wise Men set out. In the depths of winter, they undertook a long and difficult journey deep into enemy territory to come and worship Christ. Today Messiah awaits your response. Will you bow down to him as King and Lord of your Life. For this is what Christmas is all about. Messiah has come to rule as King-firstly in our lives individuality, then from the throne of David internationally at His Return. Will you offer the only acceptable sacrifice to Him now -- the Throne of your Life given over to Christ's control without reserve? The choice is yours, and the consequences are eternal.

Good post; good info.

The Parthians were not a 1 to 1 with the old Persian Empire.

Had you ever read anywhere else that Zoroaster was a pupil of Daniel himself? I didn't know that.

Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem

Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
Shining afar through shadows dim
Giving the light for those who long have gone
Guiding the wise men on their way
Unto the place where Jesus lay
Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
Shine upon us until the glory dawns.
Give us a light to guide the way
Unto the land of perfect day.
Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on

Oh Beautiful Star the hope of light
Guiding the pilgrims through the night
Over the mountains till the break of dawn
Into the light of perfect day
It will give out a lovely ray
Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh Beautiful Star the hope of rest
For the redeemed the good and blessed
Yonder in glory when the crown is won
Jesus is now the star divine
Brighter and brighter he will shine
Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on

Revelation 12 tells of the birth of Messiah when the constellation Virgo (the woman in the heavens) was clothed with the sun and had the moon at her feet.

It's comments like this that makes the rest of the article suspect.

What was the ‘Star’?

In an attempt to determine what the “star" might have been, astronomers have studied celestial phenomena that could have taken place at about the time of Jesus’ birth.

1. A supernova or “new star”: When a star explodes into birth, it gives out a great deal of light lasting weeks or months, sometimes even visible in the daytime. About a dozen are discovered each year, but they are rarely visible to the naked eye.

2. A comet: Comets appear a few times each century, Halley’s Comet has appeared every 77 years since 240 B. C. Its appearance closest to the date of Christ’s birth would have been in 12 or 11 B. C.

3. A planetary conjunction: There is a rare conjunction of three planets which according to the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, occurs every 805 years when the orbits of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter bring them fairly close to one another. Kepler saw this happen in October on 16-5, and calculated that it would also have happened in 7 or 6 B. C.


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Thanks P-Marlowe. Note: this topic is from 12/21/2004 . Blast from the Past. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

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