According to Francis Rolleston in her work Mizraim; or Astronomy of Egypt, Centaurus is "the appointed offering himself as a sacrifice" and the Egyptian name for the constellation is Knemu (Mu, to die. (B.) The appointed dieth, is bruised).

The brightest star in Centaurus is Toliman which is in the fore-foot of the horse and means the heretofore and hereafter (Rev. 1:8). On Chart 69, the star is labeled Rigil Kentaurus, which is its more recently given name. Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) observed that this star was growing rapidly brighter. Actually, Toliman (more popularly known as Alpha Centauri) is a triple star system which appears as the third brightest star in the heavens to the naked eye. It is the relationship of the stars' orbits to each other (at least the two brightest ones) that makes it appear brighter at times. These stars are the closest stars to our solar system, approximately 4.3 light years away.

Chart 70 shows the paths of Hykutake (April 1-30, 1996) and Hale-Bopp (April 1-30, 1997). The chart includes the celestial coordinate grid lines so that you can see how celestial events portrayed in Charts 71 and 72 line up with the spot that the two comets crossed on April 10/11, 1996 and April 10/11, 1997.

Chart 71 shows the very rare massing of Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn in Aries on April 11, 2000. It is interesting that this event occurs also on April 11, and that Saturn is in near conjunction to where the two comets crossed on that date in 1996 and 1997. See A Voice Crying in the Heavens, second edition, pp. 140-147 for a review or for further insight on the significance of the celestial events that will occur in March, April, and May in the year 2000.

Chart 72 shows the Mars/Saturn/Menkar conjunction which portrays the binding of the Devil on April 16, 2000. Mars (Michael) at this time is in direct conjunction to the spot that the two comets crossed, and Saturn (Satan) is very close to direct conjunction. Again, this is a very rare celestial event.

It is truly amazing how these very rare celestial events (the crossing of the paths of two very bright comets one year to the day, April 11; another visible comet coming into conjunction with that crossing point as it reached perihelion with the sun a little over a year later; the massing of Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn in Aries, also on April 11; and the Mars/Saturn/Menkar conjunction) should occur over such a short period of time and be focussed on the same area in the heavens.

MASSING OF PLANETS IN CANCER

Chart 73 displays the massing of the planets Mars, Venus, and Mercury along with the crescent moon in the sign Cancer about 12 minutes before sunrise as seen from Jerusalem on August 20. This chart was produced from the Skyglobe astronomy program. The horizontal line above the sun is the horizon. Mercury is 6⁰ above the horizon, Venus is 15⁰ above the horizon, the moon is 17⁰ above the horizon and 4% illuminated, and Mars is 23⁰ above the horizon. The crescent light is at bottom center on the moon (not seen on chart). Venus and Mars came into conjunction in Gemini on August 5, and Venus and Mercury will come into conjunction on August 26, in Cancer, the same day that Comet SOHO 1998J1 leaves Argo and enters Centaurus. The constellation Argo is one of the three decans which belongs to the sign Cancer. The other two decans are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor or the greater and lesser sheepfolds of God. A few examples of the meanings of the star names in these flocks as rendered by Rolleston, Bullinger, and Seiss are Kochab, waiting the coming; Alkaid, the Assembled or the gathered together; Mizar, guarded or enclosed place; Cab'd al Asad, multitude of the assembled; El Kaphrah, the protected, the covered, the Redeemed.

The following is from E.W. Bullinger's The Witness of the Stars, concerning Cancer.

"With regard to the sign of Cancer, one thing is certain, that we have not got the original picture, or anything like it.

It does not agree with the names either of its three constellations which have come down to us, or of its stars.

In the ancient Denderah Zodiac it is represented as a Scarabaeus, or sacred beetle. (The Scarabaeus, passing its early existence as a worm of the earth, and thence issuing as a winged denizen of heaven, was held by the Egyptians as an emblem of the resurrection of the body). In the Zodiac of Esneh and in a Hindu Zodiac (400 B.C.) it is the same.

According to the Greeks, Jupiter placed this Crab amongst the signs of the Zodiac.

In Sir William Jone's Oriental Zodiac we meet with the crab, and an Egyptian Zodiac found in Rome bears also the crab in the sign. The more ancient Egyptians place Hermanubis, or Hermes, with the head of an ibis or hawk, as the symbol of the sign now allotted to Cancer.

The Denderah name is Klaria, or the cattle folds, and in this name we have the key meaning of the sign, and to the subject of this chapter."

The star in the lower large claw is called Acubene, which, in Hebrew and Arabic, means the sheltering or hiding-place. Another is named Ma'alaph (Arabic), assembled thousands; Al Himarein (Arabic), the kids or lambs.

Another interesting factor is the position of Mars in Cancer on September 6, 1998 during a penumbral lunar eclipse. I will be covering this in more detail along with other interesting celestial events in the September newsletter (Lord willing). Mars is in the same celestial coordinate (within a few seconds) on September 6, 1998 at the time of a penumbral lunar eclipse that it was on September 27, 1996 during a total lunar eclipse. The odds that Mars should be in the same spot in the sky during both eclipses are phenomenal. The last time that Mars was in Cancer was in 1996. At that time, as you may recall, there were violent clashes between Israeli and PLO forces, especially around the time of the eclipse.

ADDRESS CORRECTION

I recently noticed that the address on the newsletter heading has shown "P.O. Box 5772" as part of the postal address for Biblical Astronomy. This is incorrect. The correct box number is "P.O. Box 5272." I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.