What Was the Star of Bethlehem? | Catholic Answers Focus

00:32:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAuUSMxqsiQ

Resumo

TLDRThe video explores the mystery of the Star of Bethlehem as depicted in Christian lore. Hosts discuss the assumption that the wise men followed a star that led them directly to Jesus, a view they challenge by examining historical records and traditional astrological beliefs. They delve into various theories on what the Star of Bethlehem could have been, ranging from miraculous interpretations to astronomical phenomena involving Jupiter and Venus. The conversation also covers two main types of astrology: the Greco-Roman system and the Babylonian system, using these frameworks to analyze celestial events that may have been interpreted as signaling the birth of a new king. In particular, the discussion criticizes overly miraculous explanations of the star in favor of more historically grounded analyses, including potential alignments and events observed in the sky during 3-2 BC. The theories aim to correlate these occurrences with Babylonian omens interpreted at the time as portending significant political change.

ConclusΓ΅es

  • 🌟 The Star of Bethlehem is often misunderstood as a miraculous guiding star.
  • πŸ“œ There's a need to interpret historical astronomical events through ancient astrological beliefs.
  • πŸ”­ Jupiter and Venus alignments in 3-2 BC are a major focus in identifying the Star of Bethlehem.
  • πŸ’« Ancient astrology viewed any light in the sky as a 'star', differing from modern understandings.
  • πŸ“– The Babylonian astrology offers a compelling framework to explain the wise men's journey.
  • 🚫 Overly supernatural explanations lack historical evidence and are discouraged.
  • πŸ“… Correct historical dating of events is crucial in exploring ancient astronomical records.
  • πŸŒ• Astrology heavily influenced ancient perceptions and decisions regarding celestial events.
  • πŸ—ΊοΈ The concept of interpreting stars has evolved over centuries, impacting religious narratives.
  • πŸ” Current research combines historical astrology and biblical events for coherent explanations.

Linha do tempo

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker begins by debunking a common belief about the Star of Bethlehem, suggesting that the wise men following a star is misunderstood. The discussion announces the topic about the Star of Bethlehem, emphasizing its significance and persistence as a subject of interest, before delving into the common misconceptions and the real clues that the Gospel offers about the star. There's a mention of various theories about what the star could have been, and a reference to the misunderstandings surrounding its role in guiding to Bethlehem.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The idea that stars don't typically lead people is explored, with Jimmy Aken clarifying that if a star was literally leading the wise men, they wouldn't have visited Herod in Jerusalem. Instead, they went to where they expected to find a new kingβ€”Jerusalem. This indicates that they weren't following a moving star but were guided by other signs or knowledge. The discussion touches on why celestial guidance might be misconstrued and how media and traditional interpretations might have shaped common understanding.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The concept of 'star' in ancient times is expanded to include any celestial light, from the moon to meteors. This understanding challenges the view that the Star of Bethlehem was a supernatural phenomenon, narrowing it down from fixed stars and constellations to more dynamic celestial events. The ancient understanding of astronomy influenced how such events were interpreted. The approach to discern the Star of Bethlehem requires proposing probable celestial phenomena using historical and cultural insights, discounting unlikely events like constellations, meteors, and comets.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The talk transitions into evaluating nova stars (nova or new stars) and why they're unlikely candidates for the biblical star. These new stars weren't part of structured astrological systems that could predict births. Finally, the discussion narrows down to the plausible involvement of planets, which held significance in ancient astrological systems. The narrative begins to explore Michael Molnar's theory, which situates Jesus' birth in a specific astrological context, while noting limitations of Greco-Roman astrology compared to East-origin Magi astrology.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The conversation criticizes Rick Larson's documentary on 'The Star of Bethlehem' for its interpretative framework, noting that while celestial events like those involving Jupiter in 3 BC offer strong candidates for the star, the symbolism borrowed from the Bible (like associating Leo with Judah) may inaccurately surface in Greco-Roman astrology. The need to consider Babylonian astrological interpretations relevant to the Magi is emphasized, as well as the complicated historic and astrological tapestry that determines plausible celestial explanations.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:32:40

    The final part discusses recent research by Dag Killman and Babylonian astrology's potential to offer explanations for the Star of Bethlehem. Babylonian Omen astrology noted significant celestial events involving Jupiter could symbolically align with the political climate, offering a rationale why the Magi might have been motivated to journey to Jerusalem. The possible synchrony of their journey with significant celestial halting of Jupiter symbolizes reconciliation and new beginnings, leading to a Christianization narrative while discouraging a purely political reading of such astrological events.

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VΓ­deo de perguntas e respostas

  • What is the main topic discussed in the video?

    The video discusses the Star of Bethlehem and its possible interpretations based on ancient and modern astrological perspectives.

  • Why does the speaker discourage the miraculous interpretation of the Star of Bethlehem?

    The speaker suggests sticking to historical and logical interpretations rather than assuming supernatural explanations without evidence.

  • What are some common misconceptions about the Star of Bethlehem?

    Many believe it was a guiding star that moved in the sky to lead the wise men, but the speaker argues it was not necessarily a supernatural event.

  • What astronomical phenomena are considered in this analysis?

    The discussion considers phenomena involving stars, planets, comets, and other celestial events to explain the Star of Bethlehem.

  • How does Babylonian astrology differ from Greco-Roman astrology?

    Babylonian astrology is based on interpreting omens from observed celestial events, whereas Greco-Roman astrology involves calculating horoscopes.

  • What event is identified as a significant astronomical occurrence during Jesus's birth?

    The alignment and interaction of Jupiter and Venus around the time of Jesus's birth is identified as a significant astronomical event.

  • Who is the author of a theory based on Babylonian astrology regarding the Star of Bethlehem?

    Dag Kihlman is mentioned as an author who delves into Babylonian astrology to offer a theory about the Star of Bethlehem.

  • How do the speakers suggest the wise men interpreted the star?

    They suggest the wise men interpreted the star through their astrological systems, possibly seeking to curry favor with the new king based on celestial events.

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    hope you enjoy this people have this
  • 00:00:15
    idea that the WIS men are following the
  • 00:00:17
    star and that's totally wrong wait I
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    thought it says right there in the
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    gospel they followed the star around it
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    did not and the evidence indicates that
  • 00:00:26
    they weren't following the star um
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    because if they were if the star was
  • 00:00:31
    leading them around then they would have
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    gone straight to
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    Bethlehem hello and merry Christmas
  • 00:00:40
    Jimmy Aken Merry Christmas sirel kellet
  • 00:00:43
    uh oh very formal sirel well it's
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    Christmas yeah that's right uh and we're
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    going to talk about one of the features
  • 00:00:50
    of Christmas the Star of Bethlehem this
  • 00:00:52
    time uh which uh it's it's it's it's
  • 00:00:56
    fascinating to me how persistent this
  • 00:00:57
    question is what is the Star of
  • 00:00:59
    Bethlehem
  • 00:01:00
    this work I mean and and people have a
  • 00:01:03
    we have a certain image I think I spoke
  • 00:01:05
    with you about this the other day off
  • 00:01:06
    the air of um that comes from the media
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    you know once once you get a media image
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    in your head even as a kid the star is a
  • 00:01:14
    certain thing but there's a lot that we
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    think is said about the star in the
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    gospel is not said right and then uh but
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    there are some things we can know about
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    the star yeah so go so there are a
  • 00:01:25
    number of possibilities that people have
  • 00:01:27
    have raised for what the star could be
  • 00:01:29
    um often times you'll hear a lot of
  • 00:01:31
    people say Well it must have been some
  • 00:01:33
    kind of miraculous thing it's like not a
  • 00:01:36
    normal star because the wise men are
  • 00:01:38
    following it and normal Stars don't move
  • 00:01:41
    around that way you can't they I mean
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    even the planets which do move against
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    the background to fixed Stars they don't
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    lead you around by the nose no you know
  • 00:01:51
    and and and so people have this idea
  • 00:01:54
    that the wise men are following the star
  • 00:01:57
    and that's totally wrong wait I thought
  • 00:02:00
    it says right there in the gospel they
  • 00:02:01
    followed the star around it it did not
  • 00:02:04
    and the evidence indicates that they
  • 00:02:05
    weren't following the star um because if
  • 00:02:08
    they were if the star was leading them
  • 00:02:10
    around then they would have gone
  • 00:02:12
    straight to
  • 00:02:13
    Bethlehem oh yeah because that's where
  • 00:02:15
    the star that's where the Christ child
  • 00:02:17
    was oh that's never thought about that
  • 00:02:19
    yeah so they would have just gone
  • 00:02:20
    straight there but they didn't um they
  • 00:02:22
    went instead to Jerusalem and asked
  • 00:02:27
    Herod where is the newborn king I have a
  • 00:02:30
    thought about that though maybe they
  • 00:02:31
    were following the star but it was like
  • 00:02:33
    Siri directions and it ended them up in
  • 00:02:35
    Jerusalem you know how that happens when
  • 00:02:37
    you I'm sorry Jimmy I apolog this this
  • 00:02:40
    is divine Siri all right so God's not
  • 00:02:43
    going to misdirect yeah so if you're
  • 00:02:44
    actually following a star around why do
  • 00:02:46
    you end up going to Herod and going yeah
  • 00:02:49
    okay good point um this also causes
  • 00:02:51
    complications like people ask well why
  • 00:02:54
    if they saw the star in the east why did
  • 00:02:55
    they go west cuz they weren't following
  • 00:02:57
    it yeah they saw it rise
  • 00:03:00
    in the East and they realized its
  • 00:03:03
    significance so they went West to go
  • 00:03:05
    find the king whose birth had signal and
  • 00:03:09
    they went to the normal place you'd
  • 00:03:11
    expect the palace in the capital to say
  • 00:03:14
    where's the new King right and then
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    they're told oh Bethlehem and they start
  • 00:03:19
    going down to Bethlehem and it
  • 00:03:22
    providentially happens to be in front of
  • 00:03:25
    them and when they get to Bethlehem it's
  • 00:03:28
    like providentially over the house from
  • 00:03:31
    their perspective that they end up going
  • 00:03:34
    to but it's not leading them it's just a
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    it's a Divine coincidence that they
  • 00:03:39
    recognize and rejoice at but that's so
  • 00:03:43
    so we really don't have evidence that
  • 00:03:45
    this is some Supernatural light that God
  • 00:03:48
    is moving around in the atmosphere the
  • 00:03:50
    normal word for Star I me we should we
  • 00:03:53
    should understand the star the same way
  • 00:03:56
    we would understand um any passage in
  • 00:03:59
    Scripture starting with the basic
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    meanings of the words in the languages
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    in which it's written and only proposing
  • 00:04:07
    new weird things if we have evidence
  • 00:04:10
    that those basic meanings don't make
  • 00:04:12
    sense but here we don't have that
  • 00:04:14
    evidence and so we should stick with the
  • 00:04:16
    basic meaning of the term
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    Star as it was used at the time and that
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    meaning was different than what we think
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    of as stars to us a star is a very
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    distant object that that is a collection
  • 00:04:31
    it's a very heavy collection of gases
  • 00:04:34
    that has nuclear fusion going on and
  • 00:04:37
    generates its own light yeah but that is
  • 00:04:40
    a conception of stars that we've only
  • 00:04:42
    had in the last century or two right um
  • 00:04:45
    that is not what the Ancients understood
  • 00:04:47
    stars to be the Ancients understood
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    stars to be any light in the
  • 00:04:51
    sky so so the moon actually was a star
  • 00:04:56
    the planets were stars meteor were stars
  • 00:05:01
    comets were stars and what we think of
  • 00:05:04
    as stars were stars so any light in the
  • 00:05:07
    sky to the Ancients was a star and we
  • 00:05:11
    have and that can help us narrow down
  • 00:05:13
    what the Star of Bethlehem would have
  • 00:05:15
    been by thinking about well okay so if
  • 00:05:18
    you had this group of Magi and they
  • 00:05:20
    recognized the significance of this star
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    they must have had some system that
  • 00:05:25
    would let them recognize its
  • 00:05:27
    significance you know some interpretive
  • 00:05:29
    system system what we would call
  • 00:05:31
    astrology or something like
  • 00:05:34
    astrology and so we can think about well
  • 00:05:37
    what kinds of celestial phenomena what
  • 00:05:41
    kinds of lights in the sky could people
  • 00:05:44
    have used to predict the birth of a new
  • 00:05:46
    king and then you but you just named
  • 00:05:48
    them all and I named them all so we can
  • 00:05:50
    start naring them down okay so what we
  • 00:05:53
    think of as a star or what the Ancients
  • 00:05:56
    would refer to as fixed Stars they
  • 00:06:00
    maintain the same position to from a
  • 00:06:02
    human point of view they maintain the
  • 00:06:04
    same position in the sky relative to
  • 00:06:06
    each other so like you look at the Big
  • 00:06:07
    Dipper the stars are all in the same
  • 00:06:10
    positions relative to each other that
  • 00:06:12
    they were last night and last year and
  • 00:06:15
    100 years ago and things like that they
  • 00:06:17
    rotate around the nor around the north
  • 00:06:19
    Celestial pole but they keep the same
  • 00:06:22
    positions relative to each other and
  • 00:06:25
    that means that all of the fixed stars
  • 00:06:28
    go through their cycle once a year so
  • 00:06:32
    unless you have a newborn Jewish King
  • 00:06:36
    every
  • 00:06:37
    year which you don't the fix the fixed
  • 00:06:42
    stars are not good candidates for what
  • 00:06:44
    what the Magi would have seen right okay
  • 00:06:47
    neither would constellations be and
  • 00:06:48
    sometimes in the in some ancient
  • 00:06:50
    languages the word star was used for an
  • 00:06:52
    entire constellation but the
  • 00:06:53
    constellations all do exactly the same
  • 00:06:56
    cycle every year yeah and so
  • 00:06:58
    constellations are not what they were
  • 00:07:00
    viewing also um you can eliminate some
  • 00:07:03
    other things like meteors now I why I
  • 00:07:07
    mean cuz that it seems to me that a
  • 00:07:08
    meteor looks to be a falling star it
  • 00:07:10
    might might have some significance to
  • 00:07:12
    somebody but why why do you eliminate
  • 00:07:14
    meteors meteors last for
  • 00:07:17
    seconds and then they burn out yeah or
  • 00:07:20
    blow up and if they're big enough and so
  • 00:07:25
    you you wouldn't
  • 00:07:27
    see uh a meteor in the East and then
  • 00:07:32
    take this trip and go to Jerusalem and
  • 00:07:35
    start heading to be Bethlehem and hey
  • 00:07:37
    that's that same meteor
  • 00:07:40
    no I see yeah I hadn't thought about
  • 00:07:43
    that okay all right so meteor out
  • 00:07:45
    meteors are too transitory yeah um
  • 00:07:47
    comets so um there have been proposals
  • 00:07:52
    that uh what they saw was a comet it is
  • 00:07:55
    not
  • 00:07:56
    impossible but it is not probable
  • 00:08:00
    and there are two reasons for that um
  • 00:08:03
    one is that um that we don't have a
  • 00:08:07
    comet on record in the right year of in
  • 00:08:11
    the year of Jesus's actual birth there
  • 00:08:14
    there were some comets in earlier years
  • 00:08:16
    and people who are using the wrong date
  • 00:08:19
    yeah for Jesus's birth will think oh the
  • 00:08:21
    comet was was this one of the things you
  • 00:08:24
    find out when you study the star is you
  • 00:08:25
    got to get the birth year right before
  • 00:08:27
    you know when to look for it right right
  • 00:08:29
    um and people who look in the wrong year
  • 00:08:31
    get the wrong things second problem
  • 00:08:33
    comets normally were taken as bad Omens
  • 00:08:37
    rather than as good ones I see and so
  • 00:08:41
    comets it's not plausible and you need
  • 00:08:43
    to look in the um astrological systems
  • 00:08:48
    of the people who are plausible
  • 00:08:50
    candidates for the Magi and see what did
  • 00:08:52
    they think of comets and I'm not aware
  • 00:08:55
    of anybody who's found a good
  • 00:08:57
    interpretation and we just don't have a
  • 00:08:59
    ComEd in the correct year so um so I
  • 00:09:02
    would eliminate comets uh another
  • 00:09:05
    possibility is new stars and the Latin
  • 00:09:08
    word for new is
  • 00:09:10
    Nova so a Nova is a new star it's a star
  • 00:09:14
    that appears that wasn't there before
  • 00:09:17
    right and novas and supern noas are big
  • 00:09:20
    novas um but um the problem with novas
  • 00:09:25
    and we do actually have some records um
  • 00:09:27
    of ancient astronomers not in hey
  • 00:09:30
    there's a star here that wasn't there
  • 00:09:31
    before um so we we do have some records
  • 00:09:35
    of that the problem
  • 00:09:36
    is if it's a new star it's not part of
  • 00:09:40
    your astrological system oh so how would
  • 00:09:43
    you interpret it it doesn't have any
  • 00:09:44
    significance yeah you have to see the
  • 00:09:47
    thing in the sky first and then notice
  • 00:09:49
    What It's associated with down here on
  • 00:09:52
    Earth to build it into your astrological
  • 00:09:54
    system so new stars had no meaning when
  • 00:09:57
    they showed up and you couldn't use a
  • 00:10:00
    new star to predict the birth of a
  • 00:10:01
    Jewish King okay uh so uh not fix Stars
  • 00:10:05
    constellations meteors comets supernovas
  • 00:10:09
    what is the star not the Sun or the moon
  • 00:10:10
    either even though those were considered
  • 00:10:12
    wandering Stars right but but again they
  • 00:10:15
    do the same thing all the time it's not
  • 00:10:16
    like the moon did a new thing this week
  • 00:10:19
    uh okay so what do what do you let's
  • 00:10:22
    narrow it down then what is it planets
  • 00:10:25
    planets is the last remaining category
  • 00:10:27
    and they were meaningful in uh in
  • 00:10:29
    various astrological systems in the past
  • 00:10:32
    the and so the question is which system
  • 00:10:35
    and which event are we talking about and
  • 00:10:38
    in recent years uh there is a um there's
  • 00:10:41
    a gentleman named Michael mnar who
  • 00:10:44
    proposed a horoscope for Jesus based on
  • 00:10:48
    the date that he believes Jesus was born
  • 00:10:51
    and um how the the Sun the moon and the
  • 00:10:55
    planets would have been understood on
  • 00:10:57
    that horoscope um what's it's called a
  • 00:11:00
    nativity and in Nativity doesn't just
  • 00:11:03
    mean Christmas it's any birth and so a
  • 00:11:06
    birth horoscope is known as a nativity
  • 00:11:09
    okay and anybody can have a nativity
  • 00:11:11
    horoscope drawn up so he drew up one for
  • 00:11:13
    Jesus based on the date that he thinks
  • 00:11:15
    uh Jesus would have been born and he
  • 00:11:19
    interpreted it according to the Greco
  • 00:11:21
    Roman system of astrology which we know
  • 00:11:24
    a lot about because
  • 00:11:27
    um sort of in the late 1 and early 2nd
  • 00:11:30
    Century there was a guy named Claudius
  • 00:11:32
    tmy who wrote uh a book on the on
  • 00:11:37
    astronomy called the alest and then he
  • 00:11:39
    wrote four books on astrology known as
  • 00:11:41
    the tetrabiblos or the four books and so
  • 00:11:45
    this was first century inspired Greco
  • 00:11:48
    Roman astrology we know a lot about it
  • 00:11:51
    and um and and a lot of people have
  • 00:11:54
    bought into malar's version of this I
  • 00:11:58
    don't for for two reasons the first one
  • 00:12:00
    he's got the wrong year he's too early
  • 00:12:03
    um Jesus actually was born the evidence
  • 00:12:07
    indicates and you know I'm not going to
  • 00:12:10
    I mean I'll arm wrestle someone over
  • 00:12:12
    this but I'm not going to you know fight
  • 00:12:13
    to the death over it but the evidence
  • 00:12:16
    suggests that and there's a lot of
  • 00:12:18
    evidence for this that Jesus was born in
  • 00:12:21
    the latter part of the Year 3 BC or the
  • 00:12:24
    first part of the year 2 BC M but you
  • 00:12:26
    hear lots of people who were thrown off
  • 00:12:29
    and say he must have been born a year at
  • 00:12:31
    least a year or
  • 00:12:33
    two before 4 BC because 4 BC is when
  • 00:12:37
    Herod died right that so Jesus must have
  • 00:12:39
    been born in six or seven um no that
  • 00:12:43
    dating of Herod is wrong and there's a
  • 00:12:46
    bunch of evidence that shows it's wrong
  • 00:12:48
    and once you clear away the evidence
  • 00:12:51
    showing it's wrong you then default back
  • 00:12:54
    to the evidence showing from the gospels
  • 00:12:57
    and particularly the Gospel of Luke and
  • 00:13:00
    the church fathers indicating that Jesus
  • 00:13:02
    was born in the 28th year of Augustus
  • 00:13:05
    Caesar which is latter 3 early 2 mhm and
  • 00:13:10
    um and so I don't think molnar's version
  • 00:13:12
    is right for that reason because he's
  • 00:13:14
    got the wrong year he's also got the
  • 00:13:16
    wrong system of interpretation he's
  • 00:13:18
    using Greco Roman astrology but the as
  • 00:13:22
    the Magi came from the East so we should
  • 00:13:25
    look to the east now it's not impossible
  • 00:13:28
    that they could have used C in astrology
  • 00:13:30
    but you wouldn't expect them to because
  • 00:13:34
    they're not from Greece or Rome they're
  • 00:13:36
    from farther east right and it's not
  • 00:13:39
    like people in the East didn't have
  • 00:13:41
    their own systems of astrology in fact
  • 00:13:43
    they did um I mean the Zodiac the
  • 00:13:47
    constellations of the zodiac were
  • 00:13:50
    invented in Mesopotamia and then they
  • 00:13:53
    spread to Greece and Rome and we can
  • 00:13:55
    even show based on a variety of things
  • 00:13:57
    we can show when and where in
  • 00:13:59
    Mesopotamia the Zodiac was
  • 00:14:02
    invented um because of the astrological
  • 00:14:05
    correlations that are involved oh how
  • 00:14:07
    interesting yeah so we can tell it's
  • 00:14:09
    like within a couple of degrees longit
  • 00:14:11
    or latitude longitude and latitude of
  • 00:14:14
    this position and it's within this
  • 00:14:17
    century plus or minus a few
  • 00:14:20
    centuries and and that's where it came
  • 00:14:23
    from so the Babylonians had been doing
  • 00:14:25
    astrology longer than the Greeks or
  • 00:14:27
    Romans they had their own system and
  • 00:14:29
    worked differently than um than the U
  • 00:14:34
    than the Roman
  • 00:14:36
    system before and there has been some
  • 00:14:38
    recent research done on the Star of
  • 00:14:41
    Bethlehem from the perspective of
  • 00:14:43
    Babylonian astrology mm before we get
  • 00:14:46
    there though I want to talk about a a a
  • 00:14:51
    documentary that everybody is constantly
  • 00:14:54
    asking me about every Christmas oh
  • 00:14:55
    really that came out a few years ago it
  • 00:14:58
    was produced by by an Evangelical
  • 00:15:00
    gentleman named Rick lson okay and it's
  • 00:15:02
    called the Bethlehem
  • 00:15:04
    star and in
  • 00:15:06
    it lson notes some phenomena that occur
  • 00:15:11
    first thing is he gets the date of
  • 00:15:13
    Jesus's birth correct okay and he so
  • 00:15:18
    that's a big plus right there and he
  • 00:15:20
    notes that in 3 BC and 2 BC there were
  • 00:15:24
    astronom astronomical phenomena that are
  • 00:15:27
    significant that could be an explanation
  • 00:15:29
    for the Bethlehem star especially on The
  • 00:15:32
    View that it's a
  • 00:15:33
    planet and um the uh what he notes is
  • 00:15:39
    that in September of 3
  • 00:15:41
    BC
  • 00:15:43
    Jupiter does something very unusual now
  • 00:15:47
    Jupiter has an orbit that is 12 years
  • 00:15:50
    long and you would think okay well then
  • 00:15:53
    it's going to do the same thing every 12
  • 00:15:55
    years but not really because as Jupiter
  • 00:15:58
    is orbiting Earth is also orbiting and
  • 00:16:02
    we have a one-year orbit so our
  • 00:16:05
    perspective on Jupiter's orbit is going
  • 00:16:07
    to change constantly exactly so you're
  • 00:16:09
    not going to see Jupiter do exactly the
  • 00:16:11
    same thing every 12 years normally as
  • 00:16:14
    Earth passes Jupiter you will see
  • 00:16:16
    Jupiter move um let's say with respect
  • 00:16:20
    to a given star let's say regulus you'll
  • 00:16:22
    see Jupiter pass regulus once but if it
  • 00:16:25
    so happens it's one of those years where
  • 00:16:29
    we're in the right position you'll see
  • 00:16:31
    Jupiter pass regulus then reverse its
  • 00:16:34
    course which is called going retrograde
  • 00:16:37
    and then pass it
  • 00:16:39
    again okay and so you can see Jupiter
  • 00:16:42
    encounter regulus three in some years
  • 00:16:45
    you can see Jupiter encounter regulus
  • 00:16:47
    three
  • 00:16:47
    times and that happened in September of
  • 00:16:51
    3
  • 00:16:52
    BC and so what Larson does is he says
  • 00:16:55
    well Jupiter is the king of of the Gods
  • 00:16:59
    and Jupiter is thus the king planet and
  • 00:17:02
    so this is already associated with a
  • 00:17:05
    king and regulus is is Latin for little
  • 00:17:10
    King and so it's the king star it's it's
  • 00:17:14
    formal name regulus's formal name is
  • 00:17:16
    alpha alpha leonus it's the brightest
  • 00:17:19
    star in the constellation Leo so it's
  • 00:17:23
    alha and but its name regulus means
  • 00:17:26
    little King and so um
  • 00:17:29
    so it's this King star in addition to
  • 00:17:31
    the king planet and you see them
  • 00:17:33
    interacting and it's three times it's
  • 00:17:35
    like King King King
  • 00:17:38
    and it's in the constellation Leo and
  • 00:17:41
    Leo is a lion I mean Leo is the Latin
  • 00:17:43
    word for lion and the lion in the Bible
  • 00:17:47
    is associated with the tribe of Judah
  • 00:17:49
    and that's where Jesus is from is the
  • 00:17:51
    tribe of Judah so you've got this U
  • 00:17:55
    triple King event going on with the King
  • 00:17:57
    planet in the king star with with the
  • 00:17:59
    astrological sign that's associated with
  • 00:18:01
    the tribe of
  • 00:18:03
    Judah T exciting it's exciting isn't it
  • 00:18:07
    yeah he also then notes that on December
  • 00:18:09
    25th 2
  • 00:18:12
    BC Jupiter would have been in the sky as
  • 00:18:18
    you proceed south from Jerusalem to
  • 00:18:23
    Bethlehem and it was at that point in
  • 00:18:25
    its orbit where it stopped seeming to
  • 00:18:27
    move temporarily
  • 00:18:29
    so it's what's known as it's halting
  • 00:18:31
    point and he would explain that as it
  • 00:18:33
    thus is perceived as standing over the
  • 00:18:36
    house cuz it's at its halting point so
  • 00:18:38
    all this sounds great people love
  • 00:18:40
    watching this documentary and they
  • 00:18:42
    contact me about it and they say what do
  • 00:18:44
    you think and I'm going I'm ambivalent I
  • 00:18:48
    for a variety of reasons okay one of
  • 00:18:51
    them the idea
  • 00:18:53
    of of they observed Jupiter to Halt over
  • 00:18:57
    the house at the exact moment it
  • 00:19:00
    halted doesn't work at all because
  • 00:19:02
    planets move way too slow for that and
  • 00:19:05
    so yeah it's true on December
  • 00:19:07
    25th they it wouldn't have been moving
  • 00:19:10
    in the sky if you watched it for hours
  • 00:19:13
    right um you know relative to other
  • 00:19:17
    stars um but they wouldn't have they
  • 00:19:21
    they wouldn't have visibly been able to
  • 00:19:22
    observe the halting
  • 00:19:25
    also um so
  • 00:19:32
    Leo is Li is a lion symbolically and in
  • 00:19:37
    the
  • 00:19:38
    Bible Leo is associated with
  • 00:19:44
    Judah is that part of Greco Roman
  • 00:19:46
    astrology though or is he making that up
  • 00:19:48
    on based on biblical symbolism yeah
  • 00:19:50
    that's exactly right he's introduced
  • 00:19:52
    biblical symbolism into a world that
  • 00:19:53
    didn't use biblical symbolism exactly
  • 00:19:55
    and in GRE Roman astrology it's not Leo
  • 00:19:59
    that's associated with Judah it's or and
  • 00:20:02
    Judea the whole area it's Aries oh okay
  • 00:20:06
    and so um so there's a problem there
  • 00:20:10
    he's he's he's actually got what I think
  • 00:20:14
    is a very good candidate for what the
  • 00:20:16
    Star of Bethlehem was he's just
  • 00:20:18
    interpreting it through the wrong grid
  • 00:20:21
    okay and also notice kingstar for for
  • 00:20:24
    regulus it's
  • 00:20:26
    again yeah it's in LA it means little
  • 00:20:29
    King right not in Hebrew but Latin is to
  • 00:20:32
    the west of of where the Magi came from
  • 00:20:35
    right far far to the West yeah so that
  • 00:20:39
    means we ought to look at what could The
  • 00:20:41
    Star of Bethlehem be from the
  • 00:20:43
    perspective of the
  • 00:20:45
    only system of astrology from this
  • 00:20:49
    period that we know a lot about from uh
  • 00:20:53
    from the east of Israel and that's the
  • 00:20:56
    Babylonian system because we have all
  • 00:20:59
    these canor tablets that uh that
  • 00:21:02
    document their system and if you want to
  • 00:21:05
    spend hundreds of
  • 00:21:06
    dollars you can get books like this this
  • 00:21:10
    is volume four of the bab Babylonian
  • 00:21:13
    planetary Omens series uh volume four
  • 00:21:16
    covers the Jupiter Omens I never made it
  • 00:21:19
    to volume four uh 1 through three I
  • 00:21:21
    found to be very thick reading so well
  • 00:21:23
    the books are not very thick this book
  • 00:21:25
    is about 200 pages long and because it's
  • 00:21:27
    published by AC publisher Brill who
  • 00:21:30
    constantly overcharges for
  • 00:21:33
    everything this 200 Page book is more
  • 00:21:36
    cost more than $200 to get wow and I
  • 00:21:39
    need to in addition to this one I need
  • 00:21:41
    to for scholarship purposes I I want to
  • 00:21:43
    pick up volume three which includes the
  • 00:21:45
    Venus Omens because Venus is involved in
  • 00:21:47
    this and that one is over
  • 00:21:50
    $300 so scholarship because the print
  • 00:21:53
    runs are so small not a lot of not that
  • 00:21:55
    many people want Babylonian planetary
  • 00:21:57
    Omens volume four um really yeah not
  • 00:22:01
    that the print the print runs are small
  • 00:22:03
    but the a Brill is just notoriously bad
  • 00:22:07
    at how high they set their prices so
  • 00:22:09
    good on Brill for producing the book bad
  • 00:22:12
    on Brill for its outrageous overcharging
  • 00:22:15
    constantly now I one of the things you
  • 00:22:18
    find when you study the Babylonian um
  • 00:22:21
    astrology system is it's Omen based so
  • 00:22:24
    you don't like calculate where
  • 00:22:26
    everything is going to be in the sky at
  • 00:22:28
    the moment of someone's birth and put it
  • 00:22:30
    on a chart like the Greeks and Romans
  • 00:22:32
    did that's the GRE Roman system where
  • 00:22:34
    you make someone's Nativity um instead
  • 00:22:36
    what you do is you watch what's
  • 00:22:38
    happening in the sky and you wait until
  • 00:22:42
    something happens and then you interpret
  • 00:22:45
    its meaning so you go back to the the
  • 00:22:47
    book so to speak what does that mean
  • 00:22:49
    when that happens well so here's an
  • 00:22:51
    example if Jupiter becomes steady in the
  • 00:22:54
    morning so it's reached its halting
  • 00:22:57
    point in a in in the morning as opposed
  • 00:23:00
    to at some other time of day enemy Kings
  • 00:23:03
    will be
  • 00:23:05
    reconciled oh that's that's one of the
  • 00:23:07
    one of the things here if Jupiter passes
  • 00:23:10
    at the head of
  • 00:23:12
    Venus a cad that's Mesopotamia aad was
  • 00:23:16
    the chief City there aad will be
  • 00:23:19
    conquered with a strong
  • 00:23:21
    weapon wow you have other things going
  • 00:23:24
    on um it like there's one Jupiter omen
  • 00:23:28
    that if this happens there are going to
  • 00:23:30
    be wolves haunting the roads so you
  • 00:23:32
    better watch out if you're on the road
  • 00:23:34
    there's another one with Venus where if
  • 00:23:36
    it happens women are going to have a
  • 00:23:38
    hard time giving birth to
  • 00:23:40
    Children um and you have basically all
  • 00:23:43
    of these depending on what Jupiter does
  • 00:23:45
    where it is in the sky what it's
  • 00:23:46
    interacting with you then um you then
  • 00:23:50
    end up with a different prediction and
  • 00:23:52
    so there have been uh people who have
  • 00:23:54
    started looking at what would the
  • 00:23:57
    Babylonian
  • 00:23:59
    have possibly seen in the sky that would
  • 00:24:02
    suggest they need to go visit a newborn
  • 00:24:04
    Jewish King okay and there's a
  • 00:24:06
    particular guy he's a a Swedish author
  • 00:24:08
    named dog kilman dog is d a kilman is k
  • 00:24:14
    i h l m a n and he's got a book that you
  • 00:24:19
    can read called um called The Star of
  • 00:24:22
    Bethlehem and Babylonian astrology or
  • 00:24:25
    astronomy I forget which one he says I
  • 00:24:27
    can pull that up but um it's it's a
  • 00:24:30
    popular level book where he explores
  • 00:24:33
    these ideas and that way you don't have
  • 00:24:35
    to pay hundreds of dollars to get the
  • 00:24:37
    original Source
  • 00:24:39
    material um but basically uh star
  • 00:24:43
    Bethlehem and Babylonian astrology and
  • 00:24:46
    then the subtitle is astronomy and
  • 00:24:48
    Revelation reveal what the Mage I saw so
  • 00:24:51
    um I think he's got a very promising
  • 00:24:53
    Theory and he I need to do more research
  • 00:24:56
    on it but I think it's very promising he
  • 00:24:58
    he has um he his view is that Rick
  • 00:25:02
    Larson has basically identified the
  • 00:25:04
    right thing in the sky Jupiter Jupiter
  • 00:25:07
    but he's in and what it did in 3 BC but
  • 00:25:10
    he's interpreting it the wrong way um
  • 00:25:13
    according to uh kilman uh summarizing
  • 00:25:19
    from the Babylonian texts it turns out
  • 00:25:22
    that if Jupiter turns back out of the
  • 00:25:25
    breast of Leo which is where alpha
  • 00:25:27
    leonus or regulus is is this is ominous
  • 00:25:30
    it is written in the in the series of
  • 00:25:32
    predictions as follows if Jupiter passes
  • 00:25:35
    regulus and gets ahead of it and
  • 00:25:38
    afterwards regulus which it had passed
  • 00:25:41
    and got ahead of it stays within its
  • 00:25:44
    setting someone will arise and kill the
  • 00:25:47
    king and Seize the
  • 00:25:49
    Throne okay so you're thinking about
  • 00:25:51
    this as a Babylonian Magi mhm at the
  • 00:25:55
    time you're in you're in Babylon you're
  • 00:25:57
    a cal
  • 00:26:00
    but you know who the king of Babylon is
  • 00:26:02
    you know who's actually ruling Babylon
  • 00:26:04
    no the parthians okay and they have not
  • 00:26:07
    been treating you Babylonians well right
  • 00:26:10
    so you might actually welcome it yeah
  • 00:26:13
    this is good news if someone comes along
  • 00:26:15
    and is going to kill your king and take
  • 00:26:17
    the throne yeah so what would you want
  • 00:26:19
    to do if you knew someone was going to
  • 00:26:21
    kill your king who you hate and take the
  • 00:26:23
    throne I would want to befriend that
  • 00:26:25
    person right now exactly so um they well
  • 00:26:29
    how would you know where to go well um
  • 00:26:32
    some of the Jupiter Rens involve uh help
  • 00:26:37
    answer that question now um just like
  • 00:26:39
    aad is a word that we're not really
  • 00:26:41
    familiar with typically but it's the
  • 00:26:43
    it's the capital city over there um or
  • 00:26:46
    at least it is in the astrological
  • 00:26:48
    documents it's how they refer to the
  • 00:26:50
    capital city there's another word that
  • 00:26:51
    they refer to which is amuru and amuru
  • 00:26:56
    is the name it's the Babylonian name for
  • 00:26:59
    the region to the west of Babylon so it
  • 00:27:03
    includes amuru includes Israel Lebanon
  • 00:27:07
    Jordan and Western
  • 00:27:09
    Syria of those regions there was only
  • 00:27:13
    one powerful King and that was Herod the
  • 00:27:15
    Great yes because the Romans were ruling
  • 00:27:18
    other stuff they had Governors and stuff
  • 00:27:19
    but not Kings so you have a this Western
  • 00:27:24
    Nation it's in amuru it's in the amuru
  • 00:27:26
    region it's the one with a king and you
  • 00:27:29
    had um a series of of predictions based
  • 00:27:33
    on what Jupiter did on June 17th 2 BC
  • 00:27:38
    where June 7 on June 17th 2 BC Jupiter
  • 00:27:41
    and Venus got so close together that
  • 00:27:45
    they appeared to be a single
  • 00:27:47
    star and um as Jupiter and Venus get
  • 00:27:51
    closer together in Babylonian astrology
  • 00:27:54
    it triggers a series of predictions as
  • 00:27:56
    they get closer and closer
  • 00:27:58
    when they uh reach a certain level of of
  • 00:28:01
    proximity there will be a
  • 00:28:04
    flood when they get closer than that
  • 00:28:06
    brother will be hostile to brother when
  • 00:28:09
    they get closer than that there will be
  • 00:28:11
    a rule of Destruction involving the king
  • 00:28:14
    of amuru oh so some kind of Destruction
  • 00:28:18
    involving the king of amuru then when
  • 00:28:21
    they get really really close when they
  • 00:28:23
    look like they're one star or eat each
  • 00:28:26
    other it says yeah um the king of aad
  • 00:28:31
    will die and the dynasty will change and
  • 00:28:35
    either the enemy will send a messenger
  • 00:28:38
    or a soldier will be sent to the enemy
  • 00:28:41
    asking for
  • 00:28:42
    peace and
  • 00:28:44
    so knowing the king of amuru is going to
  • 00:28:48
    have a reign of Destruction and that the
  • 00:28:50
    king of aad is going to die and the
  • 00:28:52
    Dynasty is going to change and you need
  • 00:28:54
    a peace Envoy one way or the other you
  • 00:28:57
    might de to be that peace Envoy the
  • 00:28:59
    camels were heading exactly so then you
  • 00:29:02
    get over there perhaps on dece in
  • 00:29:05
    December of 2 BC this is before Herod
  • 00:29:08
    dies in this in the early part of 1 BC
  • 00:29:11
    um but you get over there in December of
  • 00:29:13
    2 BC maybe you get over there on
  • 00:29:16
    December
  • 00:29:17
    25th and it's the morning because you're
  • 00:29:20
    not going to go from Jerusalem to uh to
  • 00:29:23
    Bethlehem in the total dark of night you
  • 00:29:27
    know often think oh they set out and
  • 00:29:29
    they follow the star all night yeah yeah
  • 00:29:32
    no this is mountainous territory it's
  • 00:29:34
    uneven it is there are no street lights
  • 00:29:36
    you're not going to be taking a
  • 00:29:37
    dangerous mountain Journey at night but
  • 00:29:40
    you might get up early in the morning
  • 00:29:41
    and do it when the stars are still out
  • 00:29:43
    mhm and in the early morning hours you
  • 00:29:46
    would have seen
  • 00:29:49
    Jupiter in the southern sky as you're
  • 00:29:51
    proceeding from Jerusalem to Bethlehem
  • 00:29:54
    the road turns West and because of the
  • 00:29:58
    way the Stars rotate Jupiter is going to
  • 00:30:00
    be moving slowly to the West in the sky
  • 00:30:02
    if you're standing still but if you're
  • 00:30:04
    taking a western curving Road Jupiter's
  • 00:30:06
    moving with you it's going to appear to
  • 00:30:09
    remain in the sky in front of you the
  • 00:30:11
    whole six miles to Bethlehem which is
  • 00:30:13
    going to take a couple hours to get
  • 00:30:14
    there and when you get there you if
  • 00:30:17
    you're standing in front of the house
  • 00:30:20
    where where the kid is that you've heard
  • 00:30:21
    about and you look up in the sky you're
  • 00:30:24
    going to see Jupiter right there and it
  • 00:30:26
    so happens J is even though you couldn't
  • 00:30:29
    perceive this they could have calculated
  • 00:30:32
    the fact that um that Jupiter is at its
  • 00:30:36
    halting
  • 00:30:37
    point where it's it's about to either go
  • 00:30:40
    retrograde or come out of retrograde and
  • 00:30:44
    first prediction in the Jupiter
  • 00:30:46
    planetary Omens if Jupiter becomes
  • 00:30:49
    steady in the morning enemy Kings will
  • 00:30:54
    be reconciled
  • 00:30:58
    oh so you can imagine why they would
  • 00:31:00
    Rejoice greatly at seeing that Omen in
  • 00:31:03
    the sky right if they know it's there's
  • 00:31:05
    there's the star there's Jupiter it's
  • 00:31:07
    our it's at its halting point and we're
  • 00:31:09
    about to meet the new King of Judea this
  • 00:31:12
    is good news for us it's bad news for
  • 00:31:13
    the parthians yeah but it's good news
  • 00:31:15
    for us how fascinating to me and and
  • 00:31:18
    this is a very promising Theory more
  • 00:31:20
    work needs to be done on it but it but
  • 00:31:22
    we're looking here in the right time
  • 00:31:24
    frame and with uh with a plausible
  • 00:31:28
    uh astrological system to interpret it
  • 00:31:31
    and it makes sense they they could
  • 00:31:34
    deduce there's going to be this coming
  • 00:31:36
    King out of am muru most likely out of
  • 00:31:38
    the herodian dynasty he's according to
  • 00:31:41
    their system he's going to conquer um
  • 00:31:45
    our territory and get rid of the hated
  • 00:31:47
    rulers we foreign rulers we don't like
  • 00:31:50
    so let's make friends with him in
  • 00:31:52
    keeping with the peace on Envoy prophecy
  • 00:31:54
    and when we do we get a message of
  • 00:31:55
    reconciliation wow and all this was
  • 00:31:58
    fulfilled not in political terms like
  • 00:32:00
    was expected you know because both Jews
  • 00:32:03
    and others expected the Jewish Messiah
  • 00:32:05
    to be a political ruler but it got
  • 00:32:07
    fulfilled spiritually and so calans
  • 00:32:10
    today are Christians and like the rest
  • 00:32:14
    of us Christians they're under the rule
  • 00:32:16
    of the spiritual King Jesus Merry
  • 00:32:19
    Christmas Merry Christmas Jimmy that was
  • 00:32:21
    really cool very cool to hear all of
  • 00:32:23
    that thanks thanks very much my pleasure
  • 00:32:26
    and before we go just one more reminder
  • 00:32:28
    that if you like what you've watched you
  • 00:32:30
    can help me out by liking commenting and
  • 00:32:32
    especially by subscribing I'm trying to
  • 00:32:35
    grow my channel and I'd really
  • 00:32:36
    appreciate your help thank you and God
  • 00:32:39
    bless you
Etiquetas
  • Star of Bethlehem
  • Astronomy
  • Astrology
  • Planets
  • Babylonian
  • Greco-Roman
  • Historical Analysis
  • Jupiter and Venus
  • Biblical Events
  • Christian Lore