COMET UPDATE

Comet NEAT will be far too dim to see with the naked eye when it passes the earth on its way out of the solar system in late September, 1996. The location of the comet at that time is still of great interest (see July, 1996 Newsletter).
Comets are named after the person or organization who discovers them. Comet NEAT was discovered by a newly installed Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking system. This system was installed by NASA astronomers atop Maui's Haleakala volcano in the Spring of 1996. The comet was discovered in the month of March, along with four unusual Earth-crossing asteroids. These asteroids have been designated as 1996 EN, 1996 EO, 1996 FR3 and 1996 FQ3.
The largest is 1996 EN, with a diameter of 2 miles. The following is a quote from a NASA newsletter released on April 24, 1996: "Two of the discoveries -- 1996 EN and 1996 FR3 -- are classified as 'potentially hazardous asteroids,' being capable of coming exceedingly close to the Earth. 'These discoveries certainly suggest that we could face a surprise encounter with a large, unseen object,' Helin said. 'If these newly discovered Earth-crossing asteroids have not been seen before, then there is strong evidence that many others are near the vicinity of Earth and the inner planets, which NEAT and other programs are designed to discover.'
In the last few years, there has been growing concern of the possibility of an asteroid or comet colliding with the earth and causing mass extinction. Governments are looking into tracking and defense systems to prevent this from happening. According to Revelation 8:7-12, they will not be successful.
The science program NOVA has a good program about earth encounters with asteroids and comets. It is titled "The Doomsday Asteroid". It is available for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. If you are interested in this program, call 1-800-255-9424. It may be on the air again in the near future. Keep an eye out for listings in your Public Television program.

NOT SEEN WITH THE NAKED EYE

The three planets in our solar system that are difficult to see or cannot be seen with the naked eye are Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Uranus can be seen at times with the naked eye if you know its exact position in the sky. It is very dim. In my observations of past celestial events, there is evidence that these celestial bodies also bear witness to certain biblical events. This is one of many studies in the field of Biblical Astronomy that I have put on one of my many back burners. Since Comet NEAT cannot be seen with the naked eye, but is in a very interesting location in the heavens in late September, I thought it appropriate to show you an example of another "unseen" celestial body in its relationship to biblical prophecy.
Chart 5 shows the orbital path of Pluto during the life of Jesus Christ. (I am numbering the charts in the newsletters in continuance from newsletter to newsletter.) The program would not print the entire orbital path, so I labeled dates on the chart to show where Pluto was at various times. At the birth of Jesus Christ on September 11, 3 B.C., Pluto was above the feet in Virgo. The moon was below her feet at that time, and late that night, was in conjunction with Pluto (in the same celestial longitude). Throughout most of the life of Jesus Christ, Pluto was in the constellation Ophiuchus. See Figure 1 for a picture of this constellation. This is a picture of the "woman's seed" in conflict with the serpent and the serpent's seed. The prophecy of Genesis 3:15 reads:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

In the star charts, the serpent, or Serpens, is the dashed crooked line in Ophiuchus. Much of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled during the life of Jesus Christ. Pluto appears to be portraying this fact. The charts display how the path of Pluto would appear from Earth. It is the yearly path of the earth around the sun that causes Pluto's path to be seen as a series of loops. Each loop takes one year to complete. Pluto takes about 248.5 years to orbit the sun. In one circuit through the heavens, pluto will spend over twenty years in each sign of the Zodiac.
Chart 6 shows the path of Pluto from September 11, 1995 to December 26, 2008. This is the eighth time since when Jesus Christ was on the earth, that Pluto is in this neighborhood of the heavens. This time it may be portraying the completion of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15.

THE GREAT FLOOD

If the creation of Adam was in 3961 B.C. (see "A Voice Crying in the Heavens", p. 40), and the great flood occurred 1,656 years after the creation of Adam, as calculated through the genealogies from the book of Genesis, then the great flood and the time that Noah spent on the ark would have occurred over the one year period from 2305 B.C. to 2304 B.C. From the beginning of the flood (Gen. 7:11) to the time when the waters were dried up off the earth (Gen. 8:13) was ten months and 14 days. From the beginning of the flood to the time when God commanded Noah to go forth from the ark (Gen. 8:14-19) was 12 months and ten days. It is not clear in Genesis if the beginning of the flood started on the seventeenth day of the second month of an existing calendar, or if it was actually the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah's six hundredth year, though the wording seems to refer to the six hundredth year, second month and seventeenth day of Noah's life.
As mentioned in "A Voice Crying in the Heavens", Jupiter will most likely be in a sign in the heavens which portrays the main theme of a particular biblical event at the time that event unfolds. It is in the sign Cancer that we find the ship Argo. The following is a quote from "The Witness of the Stars", by E. W. Bullinger concerning Argo (the Ship):

"Whatever fables have gathered round the story there can be no doubt as to its great antiquity. Some think that the story had its origin in name, as well as in fact, from the Ark of Noah and its mysterious journey."

It is interesting that Jupiter entered into the sign Cancer on July 8/9 2305 B.C. On May 13, 2304 B.C., there was a massing of the planets Jupiter (God), Mars (Michael), and Venus (the Promised Seed yet to come) in Cancer (see Chart 7). These planets were also in conjunction (in the same celestial longitude) with Argo (the Ship). A small section of Argo is seen in the bottom center area of the chart. Chart 8 shows a massing of the planets Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury (Gabriel) in Cancer on June 3, 2304 B.C. One day prior to this massing, Venus (the Promised Seed) was in conjunction with the star Regulus in Leo. The massed planets are again in conjunction with the ship Argo. Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury are also in conjunction with the serpent's head (Hydra). The serpent's seed took quite a bashing from the flood. This may be what is portrayed here. It is also shown that the prophecy of the coming promised seed is still quite alive. The Devil again failed to cut off the Christ line.

ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Q. Where can I get more information about the Dance of the Planets program?

A. The Dance of the Planets program is a product of ARC Software, P.O. Box 1955, Loveland, CO 80539. Phone (303) 667-1168. The Q.E.D. Edition of Dance of the Planets with a planetarium mode and observer's companion (the version I use) costs about $195.00. This version includes all the stars seen with the naked eye and then some. You can add more stars for extra money.

Q. I am interested in buying a telescope but do not have a lot of money to invest. Could you give me any suggestions?

A. I do not use a telescope. In Biblical Astronomy, you are better off without one. You need a wide field of view to pick out the constellations. A pair of 7 x 35 binoculars works fine for bringing certain objects, such as planets, comets, or star clusters, into a closer field of view. If you wish to see other galaxies, gas clouds, nebulae, the rings of Saturn, the craters on the moon, etc., then you could either invest in your personal telescope, or find a nearby public observatory or star club.

Q. Could you punch holes in the newsletters in order to put them in binders?

A. Many subscribers prefer the newsletters unpunched. I will leave it to the individual subscribers to hole punch their own newsletters if they choose to do so.

UPCOMING SEMINARS

Celestial Signs of the End Times Seminars

Olympia, Washington on Saturday, August 10 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Olympia Library, 313 Eighth Ave.

Yakima, Washington on Saturday, August 24
Contact Don Turner at (509) 697-9392
for further information.

END TIME SEMINAR

with COLIN DEAL and Bob Wadsworth at Portland, Oregon on October 5th and 6th. Sponsored by the Church of the Body of Christ. More information to follow.

I will be presenting Prophecy in the Light of Biblical Astronomy at the following seminars sponsored by the Prophecy Club. $7.00 per person at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. Speaking from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Topeka, KS .......Wed, ...Sept. 4th
Ramada Inn, 420 SE 6th

Detroit, MI ........Thur, ..Sept. 5th
Royce Hotel, 31500 Wick Rd.

St. Louis, MO....Fri, ......Sept. 6th
Hilton Airport, 10330 Natural Bridge Rd.

Salina, KS .........Sat, ......Sept. 7th
Red Coach, I-35 & Crawford

Omaha, NB .......Mon, ...Sept. 9th
Holiday Inn Old Mill, 655 N. 108th Ave.

Des Moines, IA .Tues ....Sept. 10th
Holiday Inn Univ Park, 1800 W. 50th St.

Kansas City ......Fri, ......Sept. 13th
KYFC Studios, 4715 Rainbow,Shwne Mission

Wichita, KS ......Sat, ......Sept. 14th
Harvey, 549 S. Rock Rd.

Minneapolis ......Mon, ....Sept. 16th
Best Wst. C. Cntr., 2201 E. 78th St.

Denver, CO .......Tues, ...Sept. 17th
Holiday Inn - Northglenn, 120th & I-25

Spokane, WA ...Sat, ......Sept. 28th
Ramada Inn - Airport

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE, IF NOT IN THE AIR.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.