The Wise Men and the Star of Bethlehem

An incredible amount of time has been wasted trying to determine the historicity of Jesus, all because scholars and theologians are too conceited to consider astrology-or maybe there is too much money, egos and careers at stake? The book of Matthew practically tells you where to look.

Actually, the connection between astronomy and mythology has not gone unnoticed by apologists. I have a few Christian sources that go to great lengths to "disprove" the connection between astrology and Christianity by steering their readers away from the traditional sun cycle. To admit such a link would be fatal to the conceit of their faith.

Now, thanks to computer technology, we can simulate these biblical events for ourselves and see with positive proof that the Gospel narratives were derived from the stars. We can confirm that the Bible contains nothing more than a series of pagan myths with a different spin.

The favorite rationale for why Jesus' birthday is celebrated on December 25th is that the early Christian fathers chose that date as a way of attracting pagan followers. That's bull. The entire nativity legend can be seen played out in the sky.

Christian mythology is written as if the events took place on earth. Unless one looks for the double meaning in the Bible's language, the astronomical connection can't be seen. The Gospels are laid out according to the zodiacal motifs with Jesus, the sun hero, passing through the four seasons. He is born every year on December 25, the first day when daylight hours start to increase.

In the winter months, the darkness of evil is still in force. As the daylight hours start to increase, he is said to be increasing in strength. His mission starts on the first day of spring when daylight hours equal nighttime hours. Spring is the time of righteousness.

He is at full strength at the summer solstice when the sun is at its highest position in the sky. As the sun descends through the summer months, the dark forces of evil are said to be sapping his strength.

When the sun passes through the autumnal equinox, the evil forces of darkness are said to be ruling. On the three darkest days of the year, the sun is dead from December 21 to 24. His resurrection restarts on December 25, when the sun starts to ascend again.

³²This Jesus hath God raised [ascended] up, whereof we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:32)

Summary-Matt. 1:18-2:12

When Mary was engaged to marry Joseph and before they lived together, she was impregnated with a child from the Holy Spirit. Joseph, being a righteous man, planned to dismiss her quietly, but an angel came to Joseph and told him not to be afraid because the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. His name is to be Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did what the angel commanded and took her for his wife.

In the time of Herod the king, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, looking for the king of Jews so they could pay homage. King Herod was frightened when he heard this. So he asked his chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born. They told him it was to be in Bethlehem because it was prophesized.

Herod secretly called for the wise men to learn when the star appears. He sent them to Bethlehem to find the child so he can pay homage too.

When the wise men left, they watched it move ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was born. They entered the house and paid homage with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Afterward they went by a different route and did not return to Herod.

Setup

To prove that the Nativity story conforms to the definition of mythology, the astral events have to take place on the day of December 25 from Jerusalem, which is close enough to Bethlehem. The year should be sometime around the first century.

To simulate the events, I am using freeware from Your Sky. Ambitious readers, who want to test these dates for themselves, can download the software or use the program available at the website. The origin of this nativity legend goes back a long way, probably to the ancient Egyptians. The schedules work at least as far back as 4,000 BCE to 1500 CE. The Bible text covers Matthew 1:18-2:23.

Divine Conception

Nine months before Jesus was born, the Holy Spirit came upon the virgin mother. To see how that works astronomically go to When was Jesus born

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; (Matt. 1:18)

Joseph

1. Joseph resolved to divorce her quietly until an angel came to him in a dream and told him his wife was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The stars of Bootes the herdsman represent Joseph, who is always by Virgo's side, as Figures 1 and 4 show.

¹⁹and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
²⁰But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; (Matt. 1:19-20)

2. The angel told Joseph she will bear a son who shall be called Jesus; he will save his people from their sins.

²¹she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."; (Matt. 1:21)

3. This is to fulfill a prophecy spoken by the prophet (Isaiah:7:14). One reason for the falsity of the prophecy lies in the fact that Jews didn't believe in him, so they weren't saved.

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
²³"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). (Matt. 1:22-23)

4. When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel commanded.

²⁴When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife,
²⁵but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus. (Matt. 1:24-25)

Figure 1. Bootes represents Joseph. Virgo as Mary is next to him.

Mary

1. Virgo represents Virgin Mary. Her name is Mary because the word connotes water-in biblespeak, water is the mother element of birth. For example in Genesis 1, God divided the waters to make heaven and earth; Moses' Red Sea crossing symbolized the birth of the new nation of Israel.

2. On December 25 at the first hour, Virgo ascends above the horizon (Figure 2). It is significant that Virgo be ascending. Ascension is looked upon as a fortuitous direction.

3. At dawn, the sun personifies the Christ child born on the first day of the year when daylight hours start to increase. Thus we have the phrase, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son". She is even lying on her side (Figure 3) as if to be giving birth. When seen through the eyes of an astrologer, there is nothing miraculous about this divine conception.

4. The passage in Luke about "the low estate of his handmaiden" takes on an astronomical meaning when we see Virgo arriving from below with her hand first to emerge above the horizon, i.e. the hand of the maiden.

⁴⁶And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; (Luke 1:48)

Figure 2. The virgin ascends at the first hour on December 25 ready to give birth. The sun is born at the crack of dawn when daylight hours start to increase.

Figure 3. Virgo as she looks in human form.

Bethlehem

Jesus was made to be born in Bethlehem because, in Hebrew it means "house of bread". The house of bread is in Virgo who is pictured above (Figure 3) with grain stalks in her arms.

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
²"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." (Matt. 2:1-2)

Herod

Herod can be observed in Figure 4 as the constellation Serpens Caput the serpent. In the bottom of the picture there is Libra the balance scale. It could be that the scale was meant to weigh good and evil.

The implication that all Jerusalem was as much afraid of Jesus as Herod is rather silly.

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him
⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
⁵They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet:
⁶'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'" (Matt. 2:3-6)

Figure 4. The stars of Bootes, Virgo, Serpens Caput represent Joseph, Mary and Herod. (They also represent Adam, Eve and the Serpent)

The wise men

The wise men are represented by the three stars (Figure 5) at the waistline of the constellation Orion.

1. The wise men came from the east because they saw his star in the east (Figure 5).

If the wise men were coming from the east, how can they see his star in the east? On land, the star should be west of them? The answer is that all stars come from the east, but the star of Bethlehem is to the east of Orion. As they drift westerly, the star of Bethlehem remains to the east.

To this day, Jews never accepted Jesus as king. He had no political power. He did not save them. Even worse, his name became a symbol of Jewish persecution.

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
²"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." (Matt. 2:1-2)

2. Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to find out when the star appears. Astronomically, Orion disappears below the horizon for about twelve hours. This could be seen as the time they spent with Herod.

⁷Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared;
⁸and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." (Matt. 2:3-8)

3. The wise men see the star of Bethlehem when Orion, with its three belt stars, hangs over Sirius (Figure 7). This is how the star "rests over the place where the child was".

⁹When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was.
¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; (Matt. 2:9-10)

4. Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh symbolize the whitish to gold colors of the three stars.

¹¹and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matt. 2:11)

5. The wise men did not return to Herod because it is impossible for stars to reverse direction.

¹²And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matt. 2:12)

6. "Wise" is falsely translated from the Greek magos, which denotes they were magicians. Or in this case, they were astrologers. In those days, astrologers were believed to be wise and learned men.

Figure 5. On December 25 at midnight, the three wise men came from the east on its way to setting in the west.

Figure 6. On December 25 at 3:00 P.M., the three wise men reappear in the east.

The Star of Bethlehem

1. At 4:00 PM, Sirius emerges above the horizon-astronomy handbooks list Sirius as the brightest star next to the sun (Figure 7). The three stars in Orion align towards Sirius.

Figure 7. An hour later at 4:00 P.M., Sirius, the Star of Bethlehem rises. A straight line from the belt of Orion to Sirius points to the birthplace.

Manger

Matthew says Jesus was born in a house; Luke says he was born in a manger. They do not contradict as much as it appears. A house defines one of the twelve sectors of the Zodiac. The manger is more specific in pointing to the house of Capricorn. There are reasons for the choice of manger.

The zodiac constellation preceding Capricorn is Sagittarius, half man half horse. As the sun descends, the horse is seen to be riding down towards its stable, or manger, into Capricorn. Also, it is a dark time of the year and mangers are dark places.

In the legend of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, when Hercules was in Capricorn, he was to clean out the stables of King Augeas

¹¹and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matt. 2:11)

⁷And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.(Luke 2:7)

Figure 8. Sagittarius.

End