For the first time in over two millennia, the star of Bethlehem will reappear in the western sky, tonight.
Of both historical and religious significance, the last time this particular celestial configuration was seen, the first coming of Christ was recorded in the New Testaments of the Holy Bible, about two thousand years, ago.
Adding to this already considered remarkable spate of significance, is the unfolding turmoil both seen and felt across the world, causing many evangelicals to believe that the world is now transversing into the last era of man known as the "End Times."
Not coincidentally, might be the fact that in addition to this --on it's own--a remarkable celestial convergence, there is also the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, and the solar eclipse of 2015, making this particular year one of the most active ever, in terms of historical and astronomical convergence.
In this vein, Watcher Walid Shoebat writes:
Let's start first in Matthew 2, it speaks of when Christ was a threat to the Edomite king and the Anti-Messiah of his day, Herod:
“When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of King Herod, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him…” Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was.And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
But this star was foretold in the Old Testament Numbers regarding Messiah’s first coming and also included another major incident to take place regarding His second coming as well:
“A star shall rise out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth. And he shall possess Idumea: the inheritance of Seir shall come to their enemies, but Israel shall do manfully. Out of Jacob shall he come that shall rule, and shall destroy the remains of the city.” (Numbers 24:15-19)
Shoebat goes on to explain the extraordinary religious significance of what is unfolding now in history, as it relates to the celestial convergence.
From CBS News comes the astronomical commentary:
Starting on Tuesday, Jupiter and Venus will be so close in the night sky that you could cover them both with the tip of an outstretched finger.
The two planets will be just a third of a degree apart as seen from North America. "To the eye they'll look like a double star," said Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. "Anyone who hasn't glanced at the evening sky for a while will be surprised by how dramatically tight the pairing is."
They will be easy to spot as the brightest objects in the sky, after the sun and moon. Venus, appearing as a crescent, will be even brighter than its neighbor. Not far to their upper left, appearing much fainter, is Regulus, the alpha star in the constellation Leo.
They will remain no greater than 2 degrees apart - a thumb's width at arm's length - until July 4. Called a conjunction, this celestial convergence is more common than you might think. They appeared slightly closer together before dawn on August 18, 2014, and they'll be separated by about 1 degree before dawn on the morning of October 26th. During a remarkable conjunction on May 17, 2000, Venus and Jupiter were just 0.01 degrees apart - but too near the sun to be seen.
Next year, on August 27th, they'll dazzle again during an evening conjunction with a separation of just 0.1 degrees. At the beginning of June, the two planets were 20 degrees apart in the sky, about twice the width of your fist held at arm's length. Week by week, Jupiter and the stars behind it have gradually slipped lower in the evening twilight. But Venus, due to its rapid orbital motion around the sun, has stayed high up.
The resulting slow-motion convergence put them 6 degrees apart last week, setting the stage for Tuesday's awesome display. Although the two planets appear very near one another in the sky, they're actually not. Venus is 58 million miles from Earth, and Jupiter is 12 times farther out at 565 million miles. The distance explains why the two planets will look roughly the same size even though Jupiter is far larger.
Sky & Telescope Contributing Editor Fred Schaaf points out that this current string of Venus-Jupiter conjunctions closely resembles a similar series between the years 3 and 2 B.C. It has been suggested that their joint appearance came to be known as the Star of Bethlehem.
