July 2002
Editor – Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box
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Phone (503) 655-7430 <> e-mail – starguy1@comcast.net <> Website – www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm
Nehemia Gorodon from
Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following New Moon report for the month of June,
and the beginning of the 4th month on the Hebrew Calendar
“On Wednesday June 12, 2002, the New Moon was sighted by observers from Jerusalem, Israel. The moon was first seen by Roy Hoffman from northern Jerusalem at 19:37. The moon was then sighted from the same location by Tyoma Michael at 19:38, by Devorah Gordon at 19:41, and by Nehemia Gordon at 19:46. The moon was also sighted by Bruce and Hen-el Brill at 19:58 from Tekoa.”
Pictures of the moon as
sighted from Jerusalem are posted at:
http://www.karaite-korner.org/kknmr.shtml
The next new moon is
expected to be visible from Jerusalem, Israel around sunset on July 11,
2002. This will be the beginning of the
5th month on the Hebrew Calendar, which is also known as the month
of Av.
Venus will be in conjunction
with the star Regulus in the constellation Leo in the early
evening sky on July 10. A bright
crescent moon will be very close to Venus in the constellation Leo in the early
evening sky on July 13.
July 10, 2002
On July 2, Mercury and
Saturn will come into conjunction in the lower horn of the constellation Taurus. Chart 277 shows the closest
approach of the two planets as seen from Jerusalem in the early morning sky
about 30 minutes before sunrise.
On
July 3, Jupiter and Mars will come into conjunction in the constellation Gemini. Chart 278 shows the Ecliptic View
of the two planets near the time of conjunction. This is in the early evening sky, but the two planets are too
close to the sun to be easily seen. It
may not be possible to see this event with the naked eye.
There
is nothing rare, unique, or unusual about the above-mentioned conjunctions that
I can see at this time. These are
mentioned here for a matter of record. Rare to very rare celestial events do
not occur every month (at least not most of the time). That is why they are
rare to very rare events.
Concerning
the planetary rendezvous of Jupiter and Venus last month in Gemini, I
did a search through the 20th and 21st centuries to see
how often this particular event happens, with Jupiter in one figure of Gemini
and Venus at its side in the other figure.
Though Jupiter is in Gemini for approximately one month every twelve
years, and Venus is in Gemini every year, the two do not meet in this
particular area of the constellation but for every 83 years and 9 days. There seems to be a cycle, at least for the
200 years that I checked. The last time
that this occurred was on May 22/23, 1919.
The next time that this will occur is on June 10, 2085. My wife Marcia and I went to an area with a
good view of the western horizon and watched this event for about 90 minutes or
so. I thought it was an awesome sight,
especially knowing what it was portraying.
And we just couldn’t resist holding hands at one point, as we were
standing there looking at the two planets in the two figures that were holding
hands. I almost felt like doing wedding
vows again.
MORE ON THE ALIGNMENT OF THE HEELS
I just keep finding more
info that pertains to this. For those who are reading Biblical Astronomy for
the first time, please read the article “The Alignment of the Heels” in the May
2002 issue of Biblical Astronomy, or else the following information will
make little sense to you.
As I was reading through Francis
Rolleston’s book Mazzaroth, it was brought freshly to mind that the
Vernal Equinox at the time of the creation of Adam was in Taurus and the
Autumnal Equinox was in Sporpio (to be more precise, Ophiuchus). I brought up my astronomy program Starry
Night to see exactly where the equinoxes were in the constellations in 3961
BC, which is the date that I lean toward as being the year for the creation of
Adam. Lo and behold, the Autumnal
Equinox point was in the heel (that was getting wounded) of Ophiuchus (the seed of the woman), and the Vernal
Equinox point was between the horns of Taurus.
Chart 279 shows the position of the sun at the Autumnal
Equinox in 3961 BC. The foot of Ophiuchus
in this particular constellation figure is backwards as compared to as it
is seen in most planispheres. The sun
is actually in the heel of Ophiuchus.
This does seem so fitting that the Autumnal Equinox was in this
figure at the time of the creation of Adam and the Fall of Adam after which the
prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was given.
Chart 280 shows the position of the sun at the Vernal Equinox
in 3961 BC. It is between the horns of Taurus.
It was between the horns of Taurus that there was a solar eclipse on
June 10, 2002 and other celestial events in May 2002. As mentioned in June’s newsletter, Taurus is the tribal
symbol for the tribe of Joseph, with the two horns representing Ephraim and
Manasseh. As it is written in the
Scriptures – Deuteronomy 33:17 (R.V.):
“The firstling of his bullock
(marg. his firstling bullock) – majesty is his, And his horns are the
horns of the wild-ox (Reem).
With them he shall push (marg. gore) the peoples, all of them,
even the ends of the earth. And they
are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
[Ephraim and Manasseh being the two powerful horns].
Over the past three weeks I have
been reading a book by Batya Wootten titled Who is Israel? There are some very interesting insights
written therein. My good friend and
colleague Dan Stockemer sent me that book about 3 years ago, but at that time I
only read the introduction and haven’t read anything else of it since, until I
felt moved to do so as I was putting a PowerPoint presentation together on the
constellations, particularly the constellations representing the nation of
Israel and the two sheepfolds. After spending about 3 or 4 days reading the
book and going through Scriptures, as I felt compelled to do, I received an
early morning phone call from Jean Amodea of Jerusalem Rivers Ministry. This was the first time that we had
met. She said she was calling because
she felt moved to do so and to encourage me in writing more on how the
constellations relate to the two houses of Israel; Judah and Ephraim. She then asked me if I had ever read Batya
Wootten’s book, Who is Israel? I
told her that I had been reading it over the past 3 or 4 days. This was further confirmation that it was
Yahweh who was laying these matters heavily on my heart. So far I have only read about one-fifth of
the book, since I am also going through Scriptures pertaining to it and going
into prayer on these matters. I also
broke away to pursue some ideas that I got from the book on how certain
constellations could be interpreted in light of what was written therein. I will be doing a series of articles about
these constellations in light of the two houses starting with this newsletter
and upcoming newsletters.
I do not know the price of the book,
Who is Israel?, but anyone who is interested in obtaining a copy can
write for more information to:
House of David
P.O. Box 700217
Saint Cloud, FL 34770
Or,
you can go to their website at: www.mim.net
I do not have the space in one
newsletter to go into all of the detail of the book to give it the full report
that it deserves, but in short, the main subject focuses on the two houses of
Israel, Judah and Ephraim. It traces
Ephraim from Abraham and shows that Ephraim is considered the firstborn son of
Jacob or Israel, and that since Israel is a birthright name, that name went to
who was considered the firstborn of Israel who was Ephraim. Yahweh also calls
Israel his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22).
Later, the ten tribes of Israel in the Northern Kingdom were
collectively referred to as Ephraim (I Kings 11:26-37; Hosea 5:12-15, 6:4,
10:11; Zechariah 9:13; Ezekiel 37:15-28 – a must read). After the
captivity of the 10 northern tribes to Assyria, they blended in with the
Gentiles and lost their identity. It is
thought that they spread to other lands as was prophesied in the Scriptures;
mostly to Europe, North and South America, and Australia, becoming a multitude
of nations. On the other hand, Judah
was taken captive by Babylon approx. 125 years later. Judah (the Jews), for the most part, did not lose their identity,
and many of them returned to Jerusalem and Israel some 70 years after they were
taken captive at that particular period.
Ephraim is now thought to be the
Christian congregations throughout the earth.
This does not necessarily mean that all of Ephraim are Christians or are
in the Messiah at this time, but the nations they have become are predominantly
Christian. Quoting from “Ephraimite
Hallmarks” in Who is Israel? “Ephraim would become a melo ha’goyim, a
fullness of the Gentiles (Genesis 48:19); They would experience a second
birth (Jezreel: born anew) and once more be known as “Israel”; They
would be like the sand of the sea in number; One of their names would be Sons
of the Living God (Hosea 1:10); They would proclaim to their
brothers the “Good News” of the great mercy of their God (Hosea 2:1).”
It is in
Yahshuah HaMaschiach (Jesus Christ) that both houses are made one again as is
written in Ezekiel 37:15-28. This does
not necessarily mean that only the 12 tribes of Israel are saved through the
Messiah, for it is written that “whosoever” calls on His name, will be saved.
Having said all that, I will now continue with the
“alignment of the heels.” I suggest
reading Deuteronomy 33:17 again in light of the above.
Even though
a straight line could be drawn between the heels of Ophiuchus, Hercules
and Orion at the time of the creation of Adam, they were not aligned on
the Celestial North Pole, which was in the constellation Draco (the
Dragon) in 3961 BC. Therefore, at that
time they were not in a true conjunctional alignment. This is a recent
phenomenon since this particular conjunctional alignment only occurs when Polaris,
also named Arcas, is the North Pole Star. Polaris is in Ursa Minor, which represents one of the
sheepfolds belonging to “Him who cometh”, Messiah. Joseph Seiss writes on this Pole-Star on page 127 in his book The
Gospel in the Stars (1882) as follows:
“It is part of the promise of the
text that the seed of faith is to “possess the gate of his enemies”-- that is,
to take the house or possession of the foe – and thenceforward to hold what the
enemy previously held. Now, at the time these constellations were formed, and
for a long time afterward, the Pole-Star was the Dragon Star, Alpha
Draconis. Thus this central gate,
or hinge, or governing-point of the earth’s motion, was then in the enemy’s
possession. But that Dragon Star is now
far away from the Pole, and cannot get back to it for ages on ages, whilst the
Lesser and higher Sheepfold has come into its place; so that the main star of
Arcas is now the Pole-Star. The seed of
faith thus gets the enemy’s gate. And
understanding Ursa Minor of the Church of the first-born in heaven,
instated in the government of the earth, we have in it a striking picture of
the old prophecy fulfilled, when once Satan is cast down and the saints reign
with their Lord in glory everlasting.”
We can also see this in light of
Ephraim, the first born, who are in the Messiah and who will rule with Yahshuah
in His Kingdom. We even see this
somewhat foreshadowed now, since it is the nations of the Ephraimites and Judah
who now have a certain rule or power (the upper hand) over this present
world. I will be getting into this
further in an upcoming newsletter when I will write about Ursa Major and Ursa
Minor.
When the Messiah was wounded in the
heel, part of the prophesy of Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled. Now that the heels that pertain to the other
part of the prophecy, the crushing of the dragon’s head, are conjunctionally
aligned, with Polaris (Arcas) being the Pole-Star, the season is
ripe for this prophecy to come to pass.
TWO HOUSES, TWO FISH
It has been known from
ancient times that the sign Pisces represents the nation of Israel. The following is from E.W. Bullinger’s The
Witness of the Stars (1893) pp. 96, 97:
“Indeed, this Sign of PISCES has always been interpreted of Israel. Both Jews and Gentiles have agreed in
this. ABARBANEL, a Jewish commentator, writing on Daniel, affirms
that the Sign PISCES always refers
to the people of Israel. He gives five
reasons for this belief, and also affirms that a conjunction of the planets
Jupiter and Saturn always betokens a crisis in the affairs of Israel. Because such a conjunction took place in his
day (about 1480 A.D.) he looked for the coming of the Messiah.”
A hint to this can be seen in the written Scriptures. In Genesis 48:16 Jacob blesses Joseph’s
sons, and says “Let them 1grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” The margin in the KJV says, “1Heb. as
fishes do increase.”
The New American
Standard Bible has “may they multiply and proliferate abundantly, like
multitudes of fish – may they become teeming multitudes.”
In the footnotes
concerning this scripture on page 22 of Who is Israel, by Batya Wootten,
it is written: “The ArtScroll Tanach
Series (commentary from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic sources;
hereafter called ArtScroll, translates the verse “May they proliferate
abundantly like fish” (Genesis, Vol. 6, Mesorah, 1982, pp
2115-2117). This verse also can be
translated, “May they multiply; may they grow into a multitude of fish” (as
translated from The New Concordance of the Tanach by Rimona Frank,
Hebrew editor). Perhaps this
translation fits best, for “fishers of men” would one day be sent forth to
gather scattered Israel (Mat. 4:19).”
The Coptic name
for the constellation Pisces is Pi-cot
Orion which means fish of him that cometh.
Now the two fish
in the constellation Pisces could very well represent the tribes of
Ephraim and Manasseh as seen from above.
But they most likely also represent the two houses of Israel; Ephraim
and Judah. What I am about to share
with you I could not find in any other writings on this Sign or
constellation. Not in Rolleston’s work,
or Bullinger’s, or Seiss’ or any other.
Yet, when you see it, it seems so obvious.
E.W. Bullinger describes the two fish as such. The fish heading toward the North Pole represents the “Old Testament” saints (pre-Israel) who are heaven bound and have a heavenly inheritance, while the other fish along the ecliptic represents Israel, who has an earthly inheritance. I always had some difficulty with that one. Joseph Seiss describes the two fish as one representing the Church before Christ, and the other representing the Church after Christ. What Bob Wadsworth suggests as to the meaning of the two fish is, the one heading north represents Ephraim or the ten tribes of Israel who were taken captive to the north by the Assyrians, and the other fish as representing Judah who was taken captive to the east by Babylon over 125 years later.
The Sign Pisces
represents Israel in affliction and bondage, or captivity as emphasized in
its decan constellations of The Band, and Andromeda, the chained
women. It is the Messiah,
represented by the Sign Aries who will break the bands of captivity and
bondage
.
“Hear now this,
thou afflicted… Awake, awake; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem.
… Shake thyself from the dust; Arise,
and sit down O Jerusalem; Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive
daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold
yourselves for nought; And ye shall be redeemed without money. Isaiah 51:21-52:3
Chart 281 shows the
constellation Pisces overlaid on a map of the ancient Mid-East. I took this picture of Pisces out of
Joseph Seiss’ book The Gospel in the Stars, p. 84. It is the same picture that is used in
Bullinger’s The Witness of the Stars.
This is somewhat
eye opening, since the fish heading to the north is along the same route that
the northern ten tribes were taken “captive” around 722 BC. They were first taken north, and then to the
east. The other fish is heading in the
direction that Judah was taken “captive” by the Babylonians around 586
BC. Some of the Judeans during that
captivity were also taken north to Hamath, in line with the northern fish.
Most likely the
prophets of old knew about this interpretation of the constellation Pisces. The constellation was in place at least
3,000 years before either captivity.
Pisces is shown as the band and 2 fishes in the Denderah Zodiac, which
dates to about 2,000 BC. This was over
1,200 years before the first captivity.
I look at this
picture of Pisces and the Band in at least two ways; you may see
more. But the bands also represent the
bands of love that the “Lamb” (Aries) will use to gather Ephraim and
Judah back to the land of Israel. It
was at those times of captivities that
the tribes were scattered throughout the earth, but there will come a time very
soon, if it has not already begun, where Ephraim and Judah will be brought back
together as one nation in Messiah. This
is beautifully set forth in Ezekiel 37:15-28. If you didn’t read it the first time it was mentioned, here it is
again.
“The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
And when the
children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us
what thou meanest by these? Say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is
in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them
with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall
be one in mine hand
And the sticks
whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand and before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they
be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own
land: And I will make them one nation
in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them
all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into
two kingdoms anymore at all: Neither
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their
detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them
out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned and will cleanse
them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over
them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my
judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my
servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even
they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my
servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and
will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify
Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
The following article is from the Space.com staff dated on June 20, 2002.
“An asteroid about the size of a football field made one of the closest known approaches to Earth last Friday, June 14, zooming by just 75,000 miles (119,229 kilometers) away, less than a third of the distance to the Moon. The object was not detected until June 17, by astronomers working on the LINEAR search program, near Socorro, New Mexico. The space rock, now named 2002 MN, was traveling at more than 23,000 mph (10 km/s) when it passed Earth. The last time a known asteroid passed this close was back in December 1994, according to a statement issued by the Near Earth Object Information Center in the United Kingdom. The asteroid is small compared to some but still capable of causing local devastation had it hit the planet. A similar sized rock is thought to have exploded above Tunguska, Siberia in 1908. Thousands of acres of forest were flattened. Other boulder sized objects and smaller rocks routinely crash through Earth's atmosphere but go largely unnoticed. Astronomers say several close passes -- though not this close -- probably occur yet are undetected each year. Every few months, typically, an asteroid passing within the Moon's orbit is noticed before or shortly after it makes its closest approach to Earth.”
This asteroid missed the
earth by about one hour. The asteroid
on January 7, 2002 missed us by a little over 8 hours. The one on March 8, 2002 missed us by 4.5
hours, and this one by one hour.
Warning shots across the bow?
Yahweh bless you and your family in His super-abundance of grace, mercy and love through His son Yahshuah HaMashiach.
