The Star of Bethlehem

Notes from Rick Larson’s lecture at JFBC in December 2005…
Rick is a Texas A&M professor and lawyer. When building a nativity scene, the star intrigued Rick, and he started researching the topic. He approached the star as a mystery to be solved.
Matthew Chapter 2

ASTRONOMY VS ASTROLOGY
Constellations are referenced in the Bible…David said the stars communicate.
Job 9:9 and 38:31-32
Psalms 19:1-4
Isaiah 40:26
Even though there are billions of stars and galaxies, the universe doesn’t seem big to God.
Romans 10: 17-18…Paul quotes Psalms.
Luke 21:25 Jesus says there will be signs.

THE MESSIAH’S STAR
The mathematical discoveries made in the 1600’s by Keppler and Newton made it possible to calculate what the sky looked like at any time, from any point on earth. Computers have helped to make this process much easier.

There are nine characteristics of the Bethlehem star…any theory would have to have all nine work for it to work.
1. Birth…verse one
2. King…verse one
3. Jewish…verse one
4. The star rose in the east…verse two. The Maji came from the east…supposedly good Maji, as opposed to bad Maji. Perhaps of Jewish descent…were they descendants of Joseph?
5. Exact timing
6. Herod didn’t know when the King was born…he had to ask.
7. The journey from Babylon to Bethlehem was 650 miles…so the star had to hang around for a while.
8. The star was ahead of the wise men in the southern sky as they traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
9. The star stopped over Bethlehem.

Possible Theories…
Meteor…they don’t stop.
Comet…these can be timed. The Chinese kept accurate records. There was no record of a comet or exploding star in 2-3 BC.
Fixed Star…rotation paths are regular and predictable.
Wandering Star…Planet…Jupiter was named for a King.

THE STARY DANCE
CORINATION On 9.11 in 3 BC Jupiter crossed paths with Regulus…also named after a king. This may have happened only two or three times in the Maji’s life…they would’ve taken note of this. Then Jupiter looped around Regulus…planetary retrograde motion, passing three times…making a crown.

The Lion of Judah Genesis 49:9-10…prophesy of the Messiah connected to a lion of Judah. Jupiter and Regulus were in the constellation of Leo.

The Birth of a King Revelation 12:1-5…a vision in the sky…dragon, woman, baby.
Dragon…in human terms…Herod’s attempt to kill baby Jesus. After Leo rose in the sky on that day, the constellation Virgo rises, followed by sunrise, …then the new moon…’clothed in…’ Nine months before, when Jesus was conceived, Jupiter and Venus were so close they couldn’t be distinguished…one on top of the other…an extremely rare sight in the western sky…proved by computers to be the brightest star in history…the King planet and Virgin planet together.

The Star Stopped More retro grade motion began on 10.30 in 2 BC. Jupiter stopped at the apex of its retrograde motion on 12.25 in 2 BC. When the Maji left Jerusalem and headed south to Bethlehem, Jupiter was ‘stopped’ over Bethlehem…in retrograde motion.

THE DAY OF THE CROSS
A. Signs and Wonders
Acts 2:19-22 Jesus rose and appeared for 50 days…almost to Pentecost, where Peter quoted Joel, who predicted the moon would turn to blood. Blood moon = lunar eclipse

B. Christ’s Execution Date
Luke 23:54
Lev 23:5
Luke 3:23
…at Passover, Jesus started his ministry at thirty, Pilate was in office, a Friday. April 3, 33 AD was the only Friday that meets all this criteria. Jesus was tried and beaten so bad that he hardly looked human, per Isaiah’s prophesy. While Jesus was on the cross the sky went dark. On that date the sun set at 6:37. The moon rose in eclipse that evening. Mark 15: 25-37…Jesus died about 3 pm, the same time the eclipse was total.

Since all this happened in the clockwork (regular) of the stars, this means that God knew all this when he created the universe and set the stars in place and motion…and also when He would come to earth as a man. Important that the star could be explained as a normal event as opposed to an extra-ordinary event.
www.bethlehemstar.net