It’s all in the stars
The day that the Son of Man was born on this earth is very important. His birth would be a definite time and place in history and the Scriptures even proclaim that very day when the prophet Isaiah foretold of that event when he said, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given …”1 Believe it or not, astronomy tells us the exact biblical date that Jesus Christ was born in history if we do a bit of detective work by using the most precise calendar in the universe – the stars!
Rev. 12:1 (NRSV) tells of a great sign, sight, wonder, or portent in heaven. What is a portent?
A portent is a sign or warning that a momentous or calamitous event is likely to happen. The point is that this sign has spiritual significance. What was the sign?
According to Rev. 12:1, the sign was in the stars in the heavens above–the crescent moon was under the feet of the woman (Constellation Virgo = Virgin) and she is clothed by the sun with the 12 stars on her head. The sun travels through each one of the twelve constellations in a year whereas the moon travels through each one of the twelve constellations every month. When the sun appears in a particular constellation, that constellation is said to be clothed by the sun because the sun obscures it by the brightness of its shining as explained by Tim Warner below.
The start of every Jewish year in the month of Tishrei corresponds to the constellation Virgo or Virgin so this sign in the sky proves that John was identifying the month of Tishrei. Tishrei is approximately the month of September in our Roman calendar. The crescent moon under the feet of Virgo further narrows down the exact date to being the first day of the month. The virgin’s feet rested on the two horns of the very first faint crescent moon visible on the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.2 The twelve stars can be seen in the above picture with 9 stars in the constellation Leo and the three remaining planets, Venus, Mars, and Mercury making up the crown. Amazingly this exact alignment only occurred between 6:15 pm – 7:45 pm on September 11th in the year 3 BC. Yes, Jesus was born on the Day of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the year as far as the Jews were concerned because they considered it to be the day that commemorated the beginning of the world. This sign in the stars gives us the exact date of Christ’s birth because in Rev. 12:5 we see that at that very time this woman gave birth to a son, a male child who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter–this is Christ. Modern astrological programs can actually take us back to verify and see what the sky would have looked like at that exact date.
Who were the magi?
As it happens wise men or magi from the east (Iran/Persia) had seen a king being born in the stars around the same time. Essentially these guys were astrologers. The word “magi” originally meant Persian priests who were experts in astrology and in the interpretation of dreams. Astrology places particular importance on the motion and position of the planets but is different than how we see astrology today. We see it as more fortune-telling. What did the magi actually see?
Warning signs in the sky
Well, over a period of 18 months or so from May, 3 BC to Dec, 2 BC there were about nine major conjunctions in the sky where planets or stars came together. In August, 3 BC about a month before Jesus was born, there occurred a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus visible from the eastern sky in modern-day Iraq or Babylon where the magi were situated. That would have particular significance to astrologers who knew about the Christ or were familiar with the Jews. On that morning, they would have seen a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus taking place in the constellation Leo near the star Regulus (Regal) which is Latin for prince or little king. Jupiter is the king planet and Venus is the feminine Ishtar or mother god. Over the next nine months, there would be three further conjunctions where Jupiter and Regulus would meet. God always does things in threes or over and over again to show us. Here is an important application for us. If God keeps showing you the same thing over and over again take note and act on what He is showing you!
The magi and shepherds visit Jesus at different times
Scholars say that the magi visit occurred anywhere between 40 days and two years after Jesus was born. The quintessential nativity scene picturing shepherds and three wise men surrounding the manger is of course a false picture. The magi saw all these conjunctions and signs in the sky and they went searching for the king of the Jews. From the stars, we now know that Jesus would have been an infant around 15 months old when the Star of Bethlehem appeared around the time of December that we traditionally celebrate Christmas.
But as well as the magi or the wise men in the east, Jewish shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem saw an amazing sign on the very night that Jesus was born on September 11th, 3 BC. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them of good news that that very day a Saviour had been born who is Christ the Lord. Furthermore the sign that this was true was that they would find a baby wrapped up lying in a manger.3
Greeks seek after wisdom and Jews a sign
What is the significance of two people groups being shown that a king had been born? God had shown both Jew and Gentile that there is something that all of mankind needs to take note of. The Greeks (Gentiles) seek after wisdom and the Jews a sign. The Jewish shepherds got their sign and the Gentile wise men applied their wisdom and saw it in the stars.4
Why is it that the wise men got to worship the Messiah/king so much later than the Jewish shepherds? They wouldn’t see the little baby king until 15 months later around the time of the Winter Solstice in late December in 2 BC.5 They arrived around, if not on, the shortest day of the year (Dec 21st) which has the least amount of daylight because Jesus was sent to be a light for the Gentiles.6 The Gospel came to the Jew first and then the Gentile.7
Two witnesses at the end
Just as there were two witnesses (Shepherds and Magi) to the coming of the Saviour the first time around there will also be two witnesses at Christ’s second coming in Jerusalem. According to John and the prophet Zechariah these two end times witnesses represent the two olive trees and two lampstands representing the royal and priestly ministries of Zerubbabel and Joshua.8 But they may also even similarly represent Jew and Gentile like the first time around before the birth of Jesus. They will be there to prepare the way and announce the second coming of the king for 1260 days before they will be killed at the halfway point by the rising beast. Read my blog on “Who are the Two Witnesses.”
Are you ready for the announcement?
The question is, are you prepared for the announcement when it comes? There will be both signs and wisdom I believe for the whole world to enable them to prepare for the returning king. For us as Christians, we will be invited to hide for a little time (time, times, and half a time) during the second half while the storm passes.
Now that you know the exact date when Jesus was born, you might want to read the post, “How was Jesus conceived?” Fast forward to the end of Jesus’ life and you can read the post “Jesus died on Thursday 6th April AD 30.” To learn about Jesus’ year of ministry read the post “Christ was cut off after 62 weeks.
- Isaiah 9:6 [↩]
- https://www.askelm.com/star/star006.htm [↩]
- Luke 2:12 YLT [↩]
- 1 Corinthians 1:22 [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice [↩]
- Isa. 42:6, Luke 2:32 [↩]
- Romans 1:16 [↩]
- Rev. 11:4, Zech. 4:1-14 [↩]
10 Responses
Hello Luke 21,
After some follow-up researching I believe that Jesus was most likely born on September 11, 3 BC. I also believe Jesus was crucified on Passover April 25, 31 AD as the Passover Lamb. Three full days and full nights later He Rose Again on Saturday morning, the second Sabbath that week. There was never any good Friday as we were taught to believe.
Hi Kenneth,
Thanks for your comment. Have you seen my post Jesus died in April AD 30?
I must disagree with your assumption that Christ was born in 3 AD. Although September is thought of and can be correlated to being the first month of the Hebrew Tishri, used to validate a new year.
When taking into consideration all the scriptures and signs in the heavens, there are signs much more valuable than just looking for a” Virgin clothed by the sun”.
There are about 100 different events or scripture that must also align. I have by the Holy Spirit been shown the precise date (according to the Law and the Prophets). This date is Tishri 1, 3737 or September 12/13, 25 BC. On this date the Virgin is clothed in the sun, has 12 stars/planets as a crown, the Moon beneath her feet. There is only one time shown that the scepter changes ownership, this event happens over a few days, when Venus enters the constellation of Leo, enters the lion’s mouth and departs from between the hind legs, which provides for several more scriptures to be included and established in this one date alone.
This makes Christ almost 50 years old. To determine the actual age of Christ, one must use the Law and the Prophets – our 2 witnesses. In this instance the Jubilee year holds many truths and needs consideration of the laws of Jubilee. One such law is that servants and lands go back to the original owner, in this case God. Christ returned to the father and was granted ownership of the earth once again and forever more. Like I mentioned above there are more than 100 Scriptures that must all align and witness all these things.
Thank you for your time.
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for your comment. A few points that disproves your theory that Jesus was around 50 when He died: For starters I did not state that Jesus was born in AD 3 as per your comment, but I said, “3 BC.” Jesus was 30 when He began His ministry which makes it late AD 28 when He began ministering for just over one year. His ministry must intersect with other historical events which you can easily see on the graphic in my blog,”Christ was cut off after 62 weeks.” Basically Jesus’ life must intersect with all these men when He was 30, the most important one being Pontius Pilate. He was only reigning in Jerusalem between AD 26-36. According to your theory, if Jesus was born in 25 BC then at age 30 it brings us to AD 6 which is out of the range of possibilities for Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Caesar and the High Priest Caiaphas. Make sure you examine my graphic on this which visually proves that you are way off the mark.
Cosmic signs are one way to prove Jesus’birth, the coming of the magi, and also His second coming (Matt. 24:30) but they must also match up with the historical (which your theory does not) and also the biblical data. Luke 3:1 says that John the Baptist started preaching in the fifteenth year of Tiberius’s reign, which would be c. AD 28 or 29. Tiberius began reigning on 18th Sep, AD 14.
All in all, your theory does not match up with the historical and biblical data, so your theory must be dismissed.
I found that very interesting , I didn’t know about The zodiac in the Bible. I just learned its called Mazzaroth in Hebrew. Thanks Steve
Not 100% sure on this I’ve always been told you can not use anything about astrology or numerology or anything of that kind for biblical purposes
Modern day astrology is not the same as what we are seeing here in the Bible. The ancient astrologers were more what today we see as astronomers. They studied the stars as signs to tell what has happened or will happen. But it is not okay to let the stars run your life (E.g. I’m going to win big in the next month or meet somebody – that is astrology as we know it.) Zodiac is in the Hebrew Bible and the word is “Mazzaroth” (Job 38:31-32).
very interesting!
Yes!
I’ve always believed this…there are quite a few clues that point to this, one of which was there were shepherds still in the fields whom the angel appeared to…they would not have been out in winter in the bitter cold…animals were housed in winter with the people!
So interesting!
Great blog, Steve. I love the way you expose the Truth of the Word.