The REAL Star of Bethlehem
Bible Story
Matthew 2: 1-12
Luke 2: 1-21
The Star of Bethlehem video
from BethlehemStar.net
The Magi
The Magi were learned men, most likely
astrologers from the area that was Babylon or
Persia, and is currently Iraq.
It is possible that some of the Magi were Jewish
expatriates still in Persia since the Babylonian
exile at the time of Daniel (who was the chief of
the magi for King Nebuchadnezzar), making
them familiar with Messianic prophecies.
The Magi
There were different schools of magi,
focusing on different types of knowledge. We
know something of a particularly prestigious
school of magi from the writings of Philo, a
Jewish philosopher in Alexandria during the
time of Jesus.
Magi from a prestigious school would certainly
have been able to get an audience with King
Herod I, due to the obvious wealth of the
caravan.
Herod I and Jerusalem
King Herod I would have been disturbed by
the news because he was a cunning, powerhungry ruler who even had several of his sons
crucified for supposed plots against him.
Jerusalem would have been disturbed because
when Magi had told the Roman Senate in 63
B.C. that the stars described celestial portents
that a king had been born, the Senate
responded by ordering the death of baby boys
in the candidate age range.
When Was Jesus Born?
According to the earliest copies of Flavius
Josephus' chronicles, King Herod I died in the
year we call 1 B.C.
Later versions had a copy error listing the year
of Herod's death as 4 B.C., and this version
was widely distributed, so you still find this
erroneous date showing up in books and
websites today.
When Was Jesus Born?
October to February are the rainy season in
Israel, so the flocks would be kept indoors so
they didn't sicken in the cold and damp.
The Bible clearly states that the sheep flocks
were in the fields, so Jesus had to be born in
the spring – March or April.
Epiphany and Easter were the major festivals
for the early Church. Christmas wasn't
celebrated until 336 AD, and officials didn't set
the date as December 25th until the end of the
third century, coinciding with Roman festivals
for Saturn and Persian festivals for Mithras.
Identifying the Astronomical Event
It must occur shortly before 1 B.C.
It must have signified birth, kingship, and Jews
to the magi.
The star “rose in the East” like most other stars
(not circumpolar stars though).
Identifying the Astronomical Event
It had to appear at a specific time, but Herod
didn't know when.
It lasted long enough for the Magi to see it, note
its significance, and travel the more than 800
miles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Identifying the Astronomical Event
It was ahead of the Magi as they went south
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
It stopped over Bethlehem.
Could the Star Have Been a
Meteor?
“Shooting Stars” are small fragments of rock
or dust that enter Earth's atmosphere at great
speed, glowing brightly as its outer layers
vaporize.
This fails most of the requirements of the Star.
Could the Star Have Been a
Comet?
Comets are dirty snowballs that orbit the Sun
on very long periods, and reflect sunlight when
their crust vaporizes when the orbit is near the
Sun, leaving a bright tail.
Comets were regarded as omens of doom and
destruction, the very opposite of good tidings,
and would have been noticed by Herod.
There also don't appear to have been any
comets in 2 through 6 B.C. when looking at the
records of other cultures, especially the
Chinese who kept careful records of comets.
Could the Star Have Been a
Nova or Supernova?
Novas and supernovas are exploding stars.
They appear at a specific time, endures over
time, rises in the east like other stars, and
would be spectacular.
There don't appear to have been any novas or
supernovas in 2 through 6 B.C. when looking at
the records of other cultures, especially the
Chinese who kept careful records of “guest
stars” also.
Everyone in Jerusalem would have been aware
of a “guest star”.
What's Left?
The key appears to be that the star had to
be something which the astrologically-interested
magi would see and recognize as important,
while Herod would be able to see it but not
realize the significance of it.
That leaves planets and stars.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the name of the greatest god of
Roman mythology and has been known from
ages old as the King planet.
It is about 11 times the size of the Earth and
over 300 times more massive, circling the
Sun once every 12 years.
Regulus
In September of 3 B.C. At
the time of Rosh ha-Shanah
Jupiter came into a close conjunction with the
star Regulus, so close that they would have
appeared to touch.
The Babylonians called Regulus Sharu which
means King. The Romans called it Rex, which
also means King.
Jupiter and Regulus
So at the beginning of the Jewish New Year,
the Planet of Kings met the Star of Kings.
This is not all that rare, it happens every 12
years, though not always as close as this
conjunction.
However, it gets more interesting...
Retrograde Motion
Normally, planets gradually move eastward
against the background stars.
Every so often, the planets appear to move
backward compared to their normal motion
against the stars, toward the west. This is
called retrograde motion, and it happens
because the Earth and the planets both revolve
around the Sun.
Jupiter and Regulus
After the close conjunction in September of
3 B.C., Jupiter entered retrograde motion and
had another conjunction with Regulus in
February of 2 B.C., and then changed back to
normal motion and had a third conjunction with
Regulus in May of 2 B.C.
Over a period of 8 months, our watching magus
would have seen the Planet of Kings dance out
a halo above the star of Kings... a coronation.
The Other Criteria – Jewish Indication
Each of the twelve ancient tribes of Israel
was associated with a symbol. The tribe of
Judah was to bring forth the Messiah, and the
tribe of Judah was associated with the lion.
Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation
Leo, the lion.
The Other Criteria - Birth
In Revelation 12: 1-5, John describes a
woman in labor, a dragon bent on infanticide,
and a ruler of nations, representing Mary,
Herod, and Jesus.
John says he saw the woman clothed in the
Sun, with the moon at her feet.
As Jupiter was beginning the coronation of
Regulus, the constellation that rose in the east
behind Leo was Virgo, and the Sun was in Virgo
with the New Moon at her feet.
The Other Criteria - Birth
One month after crowning Regulus the third
time, nine months after the first conjunction,
Jupiter had a conjunction with Venus, the
Mother Planet.
This conjunction was so close, that the two
appeared to merge, creating the most brilliant
star the magi had ever seen.
This conjunction would have been visible in the
west, toward Judea, just after sunset.
Other Criteria – South of Jerusalem
By December of 2 B.C., giving the Magi time
to travel the more than 800 mile road at caravan
speed toward Jerusalem, Jupiter would be
visible from Jerusalem to the south.
Other Criteria – Stopping the Star
Each night, Jupiter doesn't appear to move
compared to the background stars, so that
cannot be what was meant by stopping.
Retrograde motion can explain this terminology.
On December 25, 2 B.C., Jupiter entered
retrograde motion, stopping its motion as the
magi looked south from Jerusalem toward
Bethlehem.
Viewing The Star
Use Stellarium or Celestia, both free, open
source planetarium programs.
Set the location to Baghdad, Iraq, and set the
date to September of 3 B.C. (Note that in
Stellarium, 3 B.C. is year -2 because it thinks
there's a year 0, when there isn't on the
calendar.) Let time move forward and look for
what we've described.
The Other Part of the Story
Jesus was crucified on the Jewish
preparation day, a Friday since the Jewish
holy day is Saturday.
It also occurred the day before the Passover
festival, which always begins on the 14th day of
the Jewish lunar month Nissan.
Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea between
26 A.D. and 36 A.D.
These three together puts Good Friday on
either April 7, 30 A.D. or April 3, 33 A.D.
The Other Part of the Story
Taking Pilate's reaction to the Jewish mob
demanding Jesus' death as atypical of his
normal behavior toward the Jews, only the
second date makes sense given what had just
happened to his leader, Sejanus, at the hands
of Emperor Tiberius.
That puts Good Friday on April 3, 33 A.D.
Note, this also corresponds to what Daniel was
told by the angel Gabriel in Daniel 9:25-26
where seven sevens and sixty-two sevens
correspond to 483 Jewish years until the
Messiah's death.
The Other Part of the Story
In Acts 2:22, Peter argues that the wonders and
signs Joel prophesied had come to pass as the
audience knew:
“The Sun will be turned to darkness and the
Moon to blood...”
On April 3, 33 A.D. there was a lunar eclipse
visible in Israel as the moon was rising, again at
the foot of the Virgo, the Virgin.
Further, the eclipse would have begun below
the horizon at 3 P.M. as Jesus was breathing
his last on the cross.
Our God is an Awesome God
Bear in mind that the motions of the planets
and Moon and Sun that allowed for all these
signs and portents to be visible as described
are not arbitrary; they obey very exact laws of
science.
They have been part of God's plan since the
very creation of the Solar System, if not before.