Biblical Astronomy

May 2010

 

Editor – Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box 2272, Oregon City, OR 97045

Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail – starguy1@comcast.net <> Website – www.biblicalastronomy.com

 

 

NEW MOON REPORTS

 

Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following New Moon Reports for the months of April and May and the beginnings of the Second and Third Biblical Months respectively.

 

April – “On Thursday April 15, 2010 the new moon was sighted from Israel. The moon was sighted: from Tel Aviv by David, Gabriel, and Daniela Cachicas at 19:25; from near Yavniel by Yotam Marcus at 19:27; from Kfar Tavor by Chad and Barbara Peterson at 19:28; from Korazim by Joshua and Alex Saralvarez and Avi and Dina Marcus at 19:30; from Ariel by Amanda Boyd at 19:30 and Abby Boll at 19:35; from Jerusalem (Old City walls) by Rick Busenbark, Joanna Celewicz, Terry Telligman, Matthias Mousa, Willie Ondricek, and Tina Ondricek at 19:39 from Jerusalem (city center) by Miri Burgin at 19:40; from Jerusalem (Talpiot) by Devorah Gordon at 19:45; from Kefar Eldad by Bruce Brill at 19:46.”

 

May – “On May 15, 2010 the new moon was sighted from Israel. The moon was first sighted: from Jerusalem by Terry Telligman, Willie Ondricek, Rick Busenbark, and David Cachicas at 19:25; from Kfar Tavor by Chad and Barbara Peterson and Len and Davonne Olivier at 19:34; from Mevaseret Tzion by Avi and Dina Marcus at 19:37; from Jerusalem by Devorah Gordon at 19:44; from Ariel by Amanda Boyd, Brent Boll, and Abigail Boll at 19:45; from El David by Hen-El Brill, Oren Brill, and Bruce Brill at 19:47; from Jerusalem by Miri Burgin at 20:00; from Mevaseret Tzion by Nathalie Blackham at 20:14.”

 

The next New Moon is expected to be visible from Jerusalem near sunset on June 13, 2010 when the moon will be 1.83% illuminated and 11.610 above the horizon at 5 minutes past sunset.

 

The New Moon on May 15th was a bit spectacular since it was very near to the brilliant planet Nogah (Venus) when the first crescent light was revealed.  The simulation below shows this event as viewed from the eastern United States.  This chart is from www.Astronomy.com

 

 

This event took place in the constellation Taurus.  Chart 521 shows the positions of the moon and Venus in Taurus as seen from Portland, Oregon.  (I live 15 miles south of Portland).  This would have been the best view but I cannot boast of it since it was too cloudy here to see it on the evening of the 15th.  I saw the moon and Venus the next evening and though the crescent was brighter, the moon was far above Venus and not nearly the great sight as it would have been the night before.

 

Chart 521 – The New Moon and Venus in the constellation Taurus as seen from Portland, Oregon on May 15, 2010 at 9:00 pm PDST

 

From Israel, the moon was in the wooly hair area at the top of the head of Taurus and though more separated from Venus, it still would have been pretty neat sight to see.  The horns of the crescent moon were pointing upward toward Venus as well as the horns of the Reem.  It was horns within horns with Venus centered above the middle of both.  I sent the info of this event out to the online subscribers before it happened, but unfortunately, postal subscribers were not able to see it until now.

 

The purple area in the bottom part of the chart above is the area below the horizon.  The sun is seen here after it set well below the horizon.

 

Nogah (Venus) represents the Bright and Morning Star, Y’shua. The New Moon begins the month but is also Yahweh’s faithful witness (Psa. 89:35-37) and Yahweh made the moon to mark the seasons – moed, appointed feasts (Psa. 104:19).  See the Complete Jewish Bible for a unique translation of these scriptures. 

 

The main theme of the Sign Taurus is Messiah, the coming Judge of all the earth.  It represents Messiah coming in judgment with wrath toward his enemies.  See the November 2009 issue of Biblical Astronomy for more info on Taurus, which was the feature constellation for that month. 

 

As a Tribal sign, Taurus represents the Tribe of Joseph, and the two horns represent Manasseh and Ephraim.  But as a sign of the Messiah’s wrath, the horns are to gore his enemies.

 

It was between April 23 and 25 that Nogah, the Bright and Morning Star, passed by the Pleiades, the seven angels of the seven congregations of Revelation 1:20.  The Pleiades represent the congregation of the Judge.  See Chart 520 in the March April 2010 issue of Biblical Astronomy.

 

I am not sure of what to make of the above celestial event.  Here we have two sets of horns (including the crescent moon) pushing forward, but Nogah is in front of them either leading the way, or staying the judgment and wrath for the time being.  He took that wrath upon himself at the crucifixion.  Perhaps this is a reminder of that or our Messiah is holding off for a bit longer in order that more people are saved before it is too late.  This is in the very least a reminder of what Messiah did for us nearly 2,000 years ago or that the time is short before his judgment comes and he will not stand in the way or hold off much longer.  The time of the judgment is up to our Father. 

 

MOON OCCULTS NOGAH

 

On May 16, 2010 the moon occulted (passed over) Venus.  I just noticed this event and it is a neat celestial event but reported by me after the fact.  It was visible in northern Africa and Israel.  This is a bit of a rare event.  What makes this particular occultation interesting is that on June 10, 28 A.D. the moon also occulted Venus in the Sign Taurus, which is the same Sign hat the event on May 16, 2010 occurred.   It was on June 10, 28 that Jesus (Y’shua) ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of Yahweh.  The two occultations occurred nearly during the same time of day.  The occultation that occurred on May 16, 2010 occurred between 11:34 A.M. and 1:12 P.M.  The event occurred on June 10, 28 between 11:51 A.M. and 1:00 P.M.

 

Chart 522 shows the position of the moon and Venus in the Sign Taurus and in its decan constellation Orion on June 10, 28.  The sun was in the midst of Gemini at that time.  I put the constellation boundary lines in this and the following chart to show which constellations the events occurred.

 

Chart 522 – Position of the moon and Venus at the time of occultation on April 10, 28 A.D.

 

Chart 523 shows the position of the moon and Venus in the constellation Taurus on May 16, 2010 at the time of the occultation.  For both events, the charts are as seen from Jerusalem.  Neither event was visible from the United States or the North American continent.

 

Chart 523 – The position of the moon and Venus at the time of occultation on May 16, 2010

 

Whether the event of 28 A.D. occurred at the actual time of the ascension we do not know.  There is one Scripture that comes to mind.  Soon after Jesus ascended into heaven the two angels told the apostles who witnessed the event that “this same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (NKJV).  I do not know if this includes the same celestial events are to occur but it appears at this time that Messiah has not yet returned.

 

Shavuot occurs on May 22/23 this year.

 

NAKED EYE COMET HEADED OUR WAY

 

The following article concerning a bright comet that is expected to be visible to the unaided eye in June is from Astronomy.com

 

Catch summer's splendid souvenir

 

“Northern observers have waited a long time to see a naked-eye comet with a distinct tail. With any luck, the wait will end this month. For Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught), start off with your unaided eyes, follow up with a view through binoculars, and finish with a telescopic close-up. The tail should look like a celestial sword angling upward into the northern sky.                                                                                                                                                             

 

The comet will be a treat for both viewing and photography after midnight. If predictions hold, Comet McNaught should glow around 5th magnitude as it floats across the sparkling stars of Perseus in mid-June. Star cluster M34 and the Alpha Persei stellar association will nicely frame this solar system interloper. The prize shot comes the morning of June 8, when the comet's tail sweeps a veil of stardust in front of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891.

 

Comet McNaught continues to push northward during June. It passes less than 2° above the bright star Capella June 21, the morning of the summer solstice. Unfortunately, observers living far north can't benefit from McNaught's higher position because of the all-night twilight and potential interference from noctilucent clouds.”

 

I will be doing an article on this event for the June 2010 issue of Biblical Astronomy, which will include a chart of its path.

 

THIS SUBSCRIPTION YEAR IS ENDING SOON, AT THE END OF JUNE

 

The current subscription year, July 2009 to June 2010, will expire at the end of June, after the June 2010 newsletter.  You will need to subscribe to the July 2010 to June 2011 subscription year to get your new password.  The new passwords will be available on or around July 1, 2010.  If you sent in a recent subscription and it was done after May 1, 2010, your subscription will automatically be extended to June 2011.  I do the subscriptions this way, once per subscription year, because I have not invested in an automated system that automatically subscribes you to 12 months from the date you subscribe and another program that automatically gives you a password.  Since there are only 160 subscribers to the online version of the newsletter, it would be too costly to purchase such programs and would drive the cost of the subscriptions to double.  I do not want to do that.  Besides, I have more control using the current method and can put your names and e-mail addresses in my address book in order to send you newsletters during emergencies and also updates.

 

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GEMINI (the Twins)

 

Messiah’s reign as Prince of Peace

 

Gemini is the main constellation in the Sign Gemini.

 

Ancient Names for this constellation

 

Thaumim (Heb.) – the united.

 

Al Tauman (Arab.) – the twins, or pair.

 

Clusus, or Claustrum Hori (Denderan) – the place of Him who cometh.

 

Pi-Mahi (Coptic) – the united, as in brotherhood.

 

Didumoi (Gr.) – twins

 

Gemini (Lat.) – twins.

 

Complementing scriptures to this constellation picture

 

Isaiah 4:2 – “In that day shall the Branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely For them that are escaped of Israel.”

 

Isaiah 32:1, 2 – “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, And princes shall rule in judgment; And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind.”

 

Jeremiah 23:5, 6, R.V. – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, And he shall reign as King and deal wisely, And shall execute judgment and justice in the land.  In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: And this is His name whereby He shall be called, The LORD is our Righteousness.”

 

Jeremiah 33:14, 15, R.V. – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will perform that good work which I have spoken Concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.  In those days, and at that time, Will I cause a Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David; And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”

 

Stars in Gemini and the meanings of their names

 

Apollo (Lat.) – ruler, or judge.

 

Hercules (Gr.) – who cometh to labor, or suffer.

 

Al Henah (Arab.) – hurt, wounded, or afflicted. This is a star in the foot of Messiah that is wounded.

 

Waset (Arab.) – set, as in of Him who “set His face like a flint.”

 

Mebsuta (Heb.) – treading under foot.  This is a star in the left leg of the foot treading the enemy under foot.

 

Propus (Heb.) – the branch, spreading.

 

Al Giauza (Arab.) – the palm branch.

 

Al Dira (Arab.) – the seed, or branch.

 

The main portrayal of this constellation is the two natures of Messiah.  First the one who came and suffered for his people and was wounded by the Dragon or Serpent in the foot (Gen. 3:15).  The second is He who returns in victory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and treads the Serpent under foot.  We can see this by the names of the stars in the two figures such as Hercules in the left figure which means who cometh of labor, or suffer, and Apollo in the right figure which means ruler, or Judge.

 

There are also other portrayals of this constellation picture.  The name in the ancient Denderah Zodiac is Clusus, or Claustrum Hor, which means the place of Him who cometh. It is represented by two human figures walking, or coming. The second appears to be a woman. The other appears to be a man. It is a tailed figure, the tail signifying He cometh.  This portrayal could very well represent Messiah and His bride.

 

This figure with the bow and arrow could also represent the Two Houses of Israel, Judah and Ephraim.  Zechariah 9:13 (CJB) – “For I have bent Y’hudah as my bow and made Efrayim its arrow.”

 

Another portrayal of this constellation is that of Yahshuah seated at the right hand of his father Yahweh.  On June 10, 28 A.D. Yahshuah ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of his father (Acts 1:9-11; 2:34; Colossians 3:1; Heb. 1:3; Heb. 10:12 etc.   It was on that day, June 10, 28 A.D., that the sun was in the midst of the two figures in Gemini.  See Chart 522 in this newsletter.

 

It depends on the circumstances of certain events which of these portrayals best represent such events.