As the story goes, about 2020 years ago on Sept. 11, 3 B.C., wise men in the East noticed an unusually bright star in the western sky. We now know with a very high degree of certainty that the celestial object they saw was a conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, which separately are the two brightest objects that can be seen in the evening sky. When the orbits of the two planets came together, one on top of the other like a figure eight, they would have formed the brightest celestial object ever seen by man. A conjunction involving Venus and Jupiter is not rare, it happens every year…often times during the day. What is rare is being able to see it. For the first time since the birth of Christ, a conjunction between Venus and Jupiter will be visible on November 12-13, 2017 on the Eastern horizon just before the sun rises. As the earth turns and the sun begins to rise, the incredibly bright ‘star’ will begin to fade into the daylight.Why do I mention this? I mention it because unlike some, I believe that Biblical astronomy is worthy of study, as it relates to signs of Jesus coming and signs which involve the ‘Sun, Moon and Stars’ as mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 21:25.
The upcoming conjunction of Venus and Jupiter is the last astronomical event this year involving a string of highly unusual events which began 3 1/2 years ago.
- First, there were a series of four blood moons which fell exactly on the Jewish Feast Days of Passover and Feast of Tabernacles (Succot) for two consecutive years.
- Then there was the Great Eclipse of 2017 which cut a swath of darkness across America from the northwest to the southeast.
- Then there was the retrograde event of Jupiter for 9 months, 2 weeks and 6 days within the womb of the constellation Virgo, exiting on September 9-10.
- Then there was the Revelation 12 Sign, an alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Stars which matched a literal reading of verses from Revelation 12:1-5.
- Then there was the predawn conjunction of Venus and Mars, to which I can attest, appeared to be a much brighter star than usual.
- And next is the predawn conjunction of Venus and Jupiter.
There are two very interesting, polar opposite theories about the Venus/Jupiter conjunction:
1) In Revelation 22:16 Jesus Himself allegorically states, “I am the bright morning star” which is another name for the planet Venus. Why would He say that? It is theorized that the Venus/Jupiter conjunction is symbolic of Jesus as the Head of the Church, coming together with Jupiter as the Body of Christ, for the first time in 2,000 years. We have already read about the symbolism of Jupiter as the Body of Christ, or the male child in Revelation 12 who is raptured to the throne of God. Jupiter symbolically representing the actual body of Christ as well, as portrayed in Isaiah 53, with stripes and with a bloody red spot where He was pierced on the side. When they are seen for the first time in 2,000 years coming together, Venus will set on top of Jupiter, symbolizing the head on top of the body.
2) Another theory is that Venus represents Satan who is also characterized in the Bible as the ‘morning star’ in Isaiah 14:12: “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” (NIV). The KJV and NKJV both translate “morning star” as “Lucifer, son of the morning.” The theory states that the church (Jupiter) after having been born from Israel (Virgo) is chased by Satan (Venus) before being ‘caught up’ to the throne of God (raptured).
Two other similar words used in the Bible used to describe Jesus and Satan are ‘lion’ and ‘ruler’: Jesus as King is the Lion of Judah, while Satan is the lion who seeks to devour and destroy.Jesus is King of the Universe (Melech ha’Olam), while Satan is referred to as the Prince of the power of the air, Prince of Darkness (Eph.6:12), or the ruler of THIS world (2 Corinthians 4:4) but with limited authority.
Between the two theories, I’d be more inclined towards the first one, since Jesus is also described as the Groom who goes to retrieve His bride, the Church, to take her away to the Father’s house.
Just as the Bethlehem Star did not signify a specific date to the wise men, but an event, it might just be that the series of unusual astronomical events these last few years should be viewed the same way, as portents of an upcoming event, not of a specific day. What if?
Eph 5:23 – Christ IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH: AND HE IS THE SAVIOUR OF THE BODY.
Col 1:18 – And he is THE HEAD OF THE BODY, THE CHURCH: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Rev 22:16 – I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR.
Rev 2:18-29 – But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations – ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”‘
So it would seem that Rev. 2 does refer to the male child described in Revelation 12, who is given the same rod of iron and who is also given the ‘morning star’. Could this be a portrayal of the Church (male child/Jupiter) coming together with Jesus (Venus/morning star), or it could be said Jesus is going to give Jupiter the morning star (Venus).
A few mathematical date related oddities which relate to November 12/13 are:
- 777 days from the last Blood Moon on Sept. 28, 2015
- 444 days from a Jupiter/Venus conjunction on Aug. 27, 2016,
- which itself was 333 days after the last blood moon of September 28, 2015.
- 50 days after the Revelation 12 Sign of September 23, 2017.
So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those
who are eagerly waiting for him.
– Hebrews 9:28