Biblical Astronomy

October 1998

Editor - Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box 5772, Oregon City, OR 97045-8272

Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail - starguy1@comcast.net <> website - www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm

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NORTH STAR/PYRAMID ALIGNMENT

(Date Correction)

In A Voice Crying in the Heavens, 2nd edition, page 135 it is stated that the North Star "will illuminate the entrance to the Well Shaft" of the Great Pyramid in 1997 and shine on the floor of the Subterranean Passage seven years later in 2004. Both of these dates are incorrect. This will not occur for at least another 600 years.

I first received the information on the incorrect date in June, 1997 from the Watcher Ministries website. At that time the second edition of A Voice Crying in the Heavens was about to go to print and I wanted to get the information in the book since it may have been very pertinent to the year 1997. Not knowing the technical details of the Great Pyramid, I called Pyramidologist Ralph Lyman to confirm if this was so. At that time he assumed that the information was correct, since the dates were originally put forth by a respected acquaintance of his, John Zajac, in his book The Delicate Balance, pg. 160. A few months ago, while Ralph and I were in a telephone conversation, he mentioned to me that the dates were incorrect. We spent about four hours on the phone going over the calculations with our astronomy programs. Since then, we have spent many more hours going over the calculations. The following is a brief outline of our research. I do not believe that John Zajac purposely put out false information, but just miscalculated. I also do not believe that it will be another 600 years before the Lord's Appearing.

The key factors to consider when calculating when the North Star is visible at certain points in the descending passage of the Great Pyramid are: the location of the pyramid (what latitudinal position on Earth), the angle of the descending passage, the size of the outside opening or window of the passage, and the distance from the opening to the point of interest.

The latitudinal location of the Great Pyramid is 290 58' 51" North. The angle of the descending passage is 260 18' 9.7". As calculated from the location of the pyramid, the Celestial North Pole is always 290 58' 51" above the northern horizon from that point. The descending passage is 41.257 inches wide by 47.33 inches high and is pointed almost due north. It is only about 3' or 1/20th of a degree off of due north. The distance from the outside opening of the passage to the entrance of the well shaft is 321 feet. The distance from the outside opening of the passage to the floor of the subterranean passage is 345 feet. For practical purposes we will call the outside opening of the descending passage the window. The further the distance from the window, the less is the outside area of visibility. You can experiment by walking closer to or further away from any window. From the entrance of the well shaft, the area of visibility from the top to the bottom of the window is 42' (30' = 1/20), and the area of visibility from side to side is 37'. From the front of the subterranean floor, the area of visibility from the top to the bottom of the window is 39', and from side to side, 34'.

The angular distance that a star needs to be from the Celestial North Pole to be visible in the window is calculated by subtracting the angle of the descending passage (260 18' 10") from the angle that the Celestial North Pole is above the horizon (290 58' 51") which equals 3 degrees, 40 minutes and 41 seconds. The Celestial North Pole is located at 900 declination north of the Celestial Equator. 900 minus 30 40' 41" equals 860 19' 19" which is the minimum declination above the Celestial Equator that the North Star needs to be in order to be visible in the window of the descending passage as viewed from the front of the subterranean floor of the Great Pyramid. The maximum declination that the star can be and still be visible in the window as viewed from the floor is 860 58' 19". This is because the area of visibility from the bottom to the top of the window as viewed from the subterranean floor is 39'. On the average, the North Star will be visible in the window of the descending passage as seen from the subterranean floor for 114 years from the time it first becomes visible. During that time, the star is only visible in the window for approximately 35 minutes each day. It appears in the window at a different time each day as the days progress through the year. The star is in the window during the night sky for about half a year, and in the day sky for the other half.

The star Thuban in the constellation Draco was visible in the window as seen from the subterranean floor from 3437 BC to 3325 BC. As Thuban moved through the Celestial Grid from the precessional movement of Earth, it again became visible in the window from 2253 BC to 2139 BC. Chart 79 displays Thuban at 2:30 a.m., on September 1, 2139 BC. Note that the information box shows that Thuban was at 860 19' 19" declination at that time, which is the minimum declination required for the star to be visible in the window as viewed from subterranean floor. Also note that the star was 260 above the horizon. It was actually 260 18' 10" above the horizon at that time, but the Dance of the Planets program rounds the altitude to the nearest degree. I set the location in the Dance of the Planets program at the coordinates of the Great Pyramid for all charts in this issue. On April 15, 2253 BC, Thuban was at 860 58' 19", which is the maximum declination from which the star is visible in the window.

Chart 80 displays the star Polaris on November 15, 1452. Polaris was at the minimum declination required to be visible in the window at that time. Polaris reached the maximum declination on October 1, 1568. As Polaris moves through the Celestial Grid from the precessional movement of Earth, it will again become visible from the subterranean floor on March 15, 2637 at which time it will be at the maximum declination from which it is visible in the window from the subterranean passage floor. Polaris will be visible from the entrance of the well shaft 9 years earlier (not 7). Polaris will remain visible in the window for over 116 years until it reaches the minimum required declination which occurs on August 15, 2753. This is displayed on Chart 81.

Chart 82 displays Polaris a 5:00 a.m., on September 5, 1997. Note that the declination is 890 15' 14" which is well above the maximum limit of 860 58' 19". At this date and time, Polaris is approximately 310 above the northern horizon as viewed from the Great Pyramid. As seen above, The North Star will not be seen from the entrance of the well shaft until 2628, and then 9 years later on March 15, 2637, it will be seen from the front floor of the subterranean passage.

EARTH BLASTED BY GAMMA RAYS

The following is from the October 2 edition of Sky and Telescope's weekly news bulletin. "NASA reported this week that our planet was bathed in a huge burst of gamma rays on August 27th. The blast was so powerful that it sent detectors to maximum or off-scale on at least seven scientific spacecraft in Earth orbit and around the solar system. The radiation came from a highly magnetic neutron star about 20,000 light-years away in Aquila. The so called magnestar has been under study for several weeks, but before the astronomers announced the discovery the stars crust apparently cracked, unleashing a torrent of gamma rays. The object has a magnetic field about 800 trillion times stronger than Earth's and about 100 times stronger than any found anywhere in the universe. The burst was observed ionizing atoms of Earth's atmosphere on the planet's night side. According to Umran Inan (Stanford University), "It is extremely rare for an event occurring outside the solar system to have any measurable effect on the Earth."

THE ROAR OF THE DRAGON

There is the possibility that there will be a meteor storm radiating from the head of the constellation Draco (the Dragon) in the early evening of either October 8 or 9. A meteor shower is considered a storm when meteors are seen falling at a rate of at least one per second. There have been recorded storms with rates of falling meteors at over 200 per second. The following is from the October 2 issue of Sky and Telescope's weekly news bulletin.

"On the evening of October 8th, debris from Periodic Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner may provide a stunning sky show. The Giacobinid meteor shower produced two of the greatest meteor displays seen this century in 1933 and 1946. Lesser showers arrived in 1926, 1952, and 1985. With the comet's return this year, there are reasonably good chances for a decent display. Unlike most meteor showers, the Giacobinids are at their best in the evening rather than after midnight. Their radiant (apparent point of origin due to perspective) is near the head of the constellation Draco. This point is highest right after dark at midnorthern latitudes; it moves lower throughout the night and is near the horizon by dawn. Europe and western Asia may have the best prospects, but the only way to know will be to go out and look."

This is interesting timing for this particular event. Comet Williams enters the tail of Hydra the serpent (also known as a dragon) on October 7 and Comet SOHO 1998J1 exits the Southern Cross on October 8.

JESUS MAY COME IN '98

Ron Reese of Maranatha Ministries recently wrote a newsletter concerning the great possibility that the Tribulation will begin on November 24, 1998. He used various calculations and astronomical events which all point to that date. Quoting from the first paragraph of the newsletter: "There are not enough superlatives to completely describe the evidence that the Lord has allowed me to discover in the past three weeks. We may or may not be able to discover the exact day of our Lord's Return (the Rapture of the Church), but I sincerely believe that the Lord has allowed me to discover the possible day the Tribulation will begin in November, 1998!!!"

Quoting from another section in the newsletter: "I have learned from studying J.R. Church that The Last Days span 10 years rather than 7 years. These 10 years parallel the 10 Days of Awe (or Judgement) from Feast of Trumpets to Fast of Atonement. Ever since the death of Rabin of Israel in Nov. 1995, the peace process has greatly deteriorated. It is the strengthening of the peace covenant (the 1993 covenant?) by the Antichrist that is supposed to be the starting point of the tribulation! So it is only natural that God's signal for the start of the End of Days (10 years?) would be the death of Rabin, who signed the 1993 covenant. Under Rabin's successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, the peace process has almost totally disintegrated. The whole world now anxiously awaits someone who can confirm (strengthen) the covenant.

Let me suggest to you that if November, 1995, began the 10-year End of Days, as strongly implied by The Bible Code and celestial signs, then November of 1998 will probably end the 3-year birth pangs period and also begin the final 7-year tribulation period, which would then end in the fall of 2005."

You should be getting Ron's newsletter soon if you have not already received it. The day I received the newsletter news first came out about the summit meeting in Washington with Netanyahu, Clinton, and Arafat on October 15. Could this be the "strengthening" of the covenant?

For a 2.520 day period to begin and end on a Biblical feast day is somewhat rare, but such is the case between the Last Great Day of Tabernacles in 1998 and the Feast of Trumpets in 2005. From October 13, 1998 (Last Great Day begins at sunset) to September 6, 2005 (Feast of Trumpets) there are 2,520 days (1,260 + 1,260). Though this disagree's with Ron's date for the beginning of the Tribulation (November 24) it is still a possibility.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.